Well, here is my contribution to the Title Challenge. My thanks go to Erika who betaed this for me and whose suggestions made this a much better fic than it would have bee. As this is my first fanfic, I would appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks again Erika.

Notes/Warnings/Spoilers: This turned into a discipline story so be warned: spanking occurs.

Five men sat sprawled around the oval conference table. For the most part they sat quietly, occasionally tapping a pencil, shifting in their chairs, darting quick looks at each other. At the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the door, they all sat up and tensed. The door opened and a dark looming figure appeared. Fury emanated off of him and blazed out of his eyes. A deep growl came.

"Is he back yet?"

Four looked at the fifth. Larabee was the leader -- let him deal with this danger. It was what they paid him the big bucks for.

Chris glared at Buck. It had no effect. He sighed and sank back down in his chair. This was going to get very ugly before it was through. "No, he's not. And before you ask, nobody's heard from him, either."

"God damn it! Where the hell is that boy?"

Josiah cleared his throat and spoke up, hoping to calm things down before they could get worse. "He's probably just held up somewhere. Maybe the debriefing went on longer than planned or he's having problems with the Jag."

"Or maybe he's just plumb scared to show up," muttered Vin.

"What was that?" Buck swung toward the Texan.

"Nuthin'. I didn't say nuthin' at all." Geez -- ever since they'd found out that Ezra was younger than they had thought -- something to do with Maude, forged birth certificates and the amazing camouflage efficiency of Armani suits and an arrogant attitude -- Buck had become as protective of the undercover agent as he was of JD. Perhaps even more so. Vin stared at the big man. He sensed there was more to this new dynamic then mere protectiveness. He glanced at Chris, caught his eye and raised an eyebrow. Chris shrugged, glanced up at Buck and nodded slightly. So Chris had caught it, too.

Nathan and JD had remained silent up till now. JD had watched his friend watching Ezra for two months now. He had seen the fretting, the increased touching - a hand on the shoulder or back, even a tousling of the hair. They had all expected an outburst at that but Ezra had only smiled and stepped out from under the hand. Even more telling was the fact that Buck hadn't had a date in over a month... Oh yeah, the man had it bad. He wondered if Buck even knew what his real feelings were. JD could tell him. Yeah sure! He might be young but nobody could ever accuse him of being stupid. Buck would have to figure this one out on his own.

Nathan could care less about Buck's ranting. He was worried about Ezra. The man had just spent the last two weeks up in North Dakota on an assignment with the FBI. He had been missing for five days. Chris had been furious, vowing to never again let a man of his work for anybody else without at least two of the others along to watch his back. Then Ezra had reappeared with enough information to make the bust. It had gone down last night and word was that Ezra had been roughed up some. Buck should just hold off until he had the chance to evaluate Ezra's condition for himself. Then Buck could do with him what he liked. He voiced his opinion and everyone else pretty much agreed with him. First ascertain his health and then let Buck have him.

It was completely understandable. They had gotten word this morning that Ezra was on his way home. Their informant had also told them the why's of Ezra's disappearance. The FBI had not lost him. He had taken off on his own with some of the gun dealer's associates. The FBI agent had told them that Ezra had had an explanation for his actions only no one on the team had been able to follow his logic. He had been reprimanded for not following procedures but since the bust had been spectacularly successful, nothing more had been done. After five days of worrying and pacing, Team 7 was not about to let this go with just a reprimand. Ordinarily Chris would handle it. The fireworks would have been something else and would have seared the hide off Ezra for sure. But this time, Chris was going to let Buck handle it. Since the FBI had deemed the incident handled and closed, they could do nothing official about it. There would be an unofficial "dealing" with their problem child

Buck slid into his chair and glared at them all. "He's mine when he finally gets his ass in here." Everyone nodded their assent. "Good. Just want to make things clear." Then he sighed and slumped back. "That boy hasn't got the sense God gave a goose."

The whole table relaxed as Buck's fury abated and concern took its place. Josiah chuckled and JD stared at him aghast. Was the man crazy? Was he trying to rile Buck up again?

"I was just thinking about some of the things Ezra's done."

The other five nodded. This was not the first time the young agent had displayed a surprising lack of common sense -- surprising because he was actually quite intelligent. How someone so smart could sometimes be so stupid, none of them knew. Oh, Ezra always had a reason for what he did -- a perfectly logical explanation, at least in his own mind. Like the FBI agent in North Dakota, they couldn't follow his explanations either.

"You know, Ezra once told me that being an undercover agent was like being a con man," JD remarked. "You have to con the bad guys and he said it takes a different kind of thinking to do that."

"Are you going somewhere with this, JD?" asked Nathan.

"Well." JD just couldn't resist. "We know Ezra hasn't got any common sense. Maybe it's because he's got con man sense. You know - common, con man?"

Everyone just stared at JD for a long moment and then groaned loud and long. The last of the tension in the room finally dissipated. Chris stretched and stood up.

"Look, it's getting late. I don't think he's going to be coming back here and if he were hurt too bad, Travis would have let us know by now. So how about we all head for the Saloon for awhile?"

Buck shook his head. "No, I think I'll wait for him at his place. You're probably right and he'll just head over there from the debriefing. Why they had to hold another one here, I don't know."

Chris turned back from the door. "One of the guys they caught was wanted here for arson and murder. Reckon they wanted the evidence first hand. Look, when he finally shows up, bring him on out to the ranch for the weekend. I think we all want him around where we can keep an eye him for awhile."

Buck found the spare key to Ezra's place on his key ring and let himself in. Turning off the alarm, he tossed his coat on the nearest chair and walked around turning on a lamp, turning up the heat a little, glancing into the kitchen cabinets and shaking his head at what he found there and in the refrigerator. Helping himself to a glass of Ezra's fine whiskey, he sat on the couch to wait. He didn't have to wait long. Ezra let himself in and stopped with his hand over the alarm's keypad. He had not remembered leaving any lights on.

"Relax, Ezra. It's just me." The tone was soft, silky and something about it made Ezra swallow hard.

"Buck, I didn't expect anybody. Can I get you someth...? Oh, you've already got one." Ezra knew he was babbling but he couldn't seem to stop He was tired and had a headache from the last four hours of endless questions and repeated admonishments from AD Travis. And now here was Buck who had been watching him like a mother hen before he had left. Buck had stood up. His posture and expression were making Ezra nervous.

There was nothing of the mother hen about him now. Now he seemed to be more like the fox -- there was a feral grin on his face and a predatory gleam in his eyes.

Buck stalked toward Ezra who stood with his mouth open. He reached out with one finger and raised Ezra's chin. "No need to be catching flies, Ez." He took Ezra's briefcase from his hand and placed it on the floor before removing his coat and adding to his on the back of the chair. Then he took Ezra's arm and marched him to the bedroom.

"Get undressed. I'm going to run you a shower and while you're in it, I'm going to get some clothes together. We're going out to Chris's for the weekend." He went into the bathroom and started the shower, adjusting the water temperature to the heat he knew Ezra liked. Walking back into the bedroom he found Ezra standing just where he'd left him, staring at the bathroom door, again with his mouth open.

"Damn, Ez, is this going to be a habit? It ain't very attractive." He once again put a finger under Ezra's chin and pushed up. Ezra blinked up at him and Buck for the first time saw just how tired the young man was. He shook his head and reaching forward slid Ezra's suit coat from his shoulders, tossing it on the bed. "I'll hang it up when you're in the shower," he told him. Loosening the tie, he threw it on top of the coat. Then he began unbuttoning the dark gray dress shirt.

Ezra put his hands over Buck's, stilling them. "I can take care of this myself," he muttered.

"Oh, I'm sure you can. Just like you "took care" of things in North Dakota." Buck smiled down at Ezra. The smile, like before, was not nice.

Ezra pulled away. "I knew what I was doing." he snapped.

That's all it took. Buck exploded and the shouting match started. Ezra tried to explain his rational, then decided he didn't have to explain anything and then, to his dismay, found that he really couldn't say anything at all. Somehow, in the midst of all the yelling, Buck had gotten the upper hand and was telling him off but good. His tired brain couldn't seem to keep up with Buck's tirade and since much of it seemed to be based on truth, he couldn't find the words to refute anything Buck said anyway. He had a notion as to why Buck was so angry. He'd had a suspicion before he had left for the accursed assignment. But he was just too tired to deal with it now. His eyes fluttered closed, tears stinging behind his closed lids, his shoulders slumped and he swayed where he stood.

"Aw Hell, Ez." Buck quickly grabbed Ezra's arm and led him to the bed, sitting him gently on the edge. "Sorry, kid, but I was so worried about you. I should have left all this for later. Let's get you out of these things and into that shower. Bet the hot water's just about run out." He quickly finished unbuttoning the shirt and drew it off. Kneeling down he took off Ezra's shoes and socks and then reached up to unbuckle his belt, unbutton his pants and pull down the zipper. He stood him up and let the pants drop to the floor.

He guided Ezra into the bathroom and then slid his silk boxers down his legs. His breath caught as he found himself looking at Ezra's groin. His penis lay soft against the chestnut curls and Buck thought he had never seen anything so beautiful. He straightened up and let his gaze wander over the rest of the man. All of Ezra was beautiful and where the hell had these kinds of thoughts come from. He quickly slid open the shower door and helped Ezra under the steaming water. "You going to be alright in there?" Ezra just nodded. He hadn't said a word since the argument had ended and had kept his eyes lowered.

Buck went back into the bedroom and pulled Ezra's duffle out of the closet. Opening drawers, he began to fill it with underwear, pajama bottoms (all Ezra evidently wore to bed), jeans and t-shirts. The jeans and t-shirts were all old, well-worn and soft. Buck was surprised that Ezra actually owned such garments. Just meant that there was more to discover about the man. And Buck realized that he did indeed want to discover all he could about Ezra. He sat down on the bed with a pair of socks in his hands and thought about the way he had looked at Ezra.

Buck held no delusions about his own sexuality. He was neither adverse to nor inexperienced in same sex relationships. At another time in other places, he had pursued such pairings with pleasure. He smiled remembering some of the times he and Chris had had. Him pursuing some beautiful young thing and Chris in pursuit of another -- teasing, daring, egging each other on. But then they had left the Seals and joined the police force. Buck found he loved his job and discretion demanded he limit his pursuits. And Chris had found Sarah. But things were different now. There was more tolerance, not much, but some. There was something changed about him, too. His relationships with women were no longer as satisfactory as they had once been. He wondered when that had begun to change. He certainly hadn't had a date in quite some time now. The interest just wasn't there. Was it because his interest was now in Ezra?

Ezra stood under the hot spray and blinked back the tears. Some of what Buck had said had hurt him deeply. Was he really as careless and unthinking of the others as Buck had claimed? He truly didn't mean to be. It was just that when he was on to something like he had been on this last assignment, he tended to lose all sense of proportion. He lost track of time, sense and others. And he had engaged in some activities and done some things that had displeased his colleagues. Some of those actions had been performed on pure impulse and some because he had thought them the best thing to do at the time. The other six had decried his impulsiveness and, while acknowledging that some of his endeavors had, indeed, been for the best, had castigated him for not following orders and thinking that he knew more and better than anyone else.

He had endured all with his usual aplomb. But later-later he lay in bed unable to sleep, railing at himself for his imperfections as the guilt blossomed and grew. No one ever knew, of course. He pushed down the guilt and appeared before the world with his customary uncaring, distant, almost cold facade.

Ezra leaned against the now warm tile. God, he was tired. It was more than physical weariness gnawing at his soul. He was tired of it all. Tired of maintaining such a rigid control over his emotions and his actions. Tired of trying to decide what face to put on for which particular group of people, what words to use. His low laugh sounded almost strangled. It was odd. In his professional life, in his undercover work, he never had that problem. No matter how rocky the job got, his persona always flowed smoothly and the words came easily. No, it was in his personal life and in his dealings with his peers that things generally went to hell.

Wasn't there someone somewhere who could just once make all the decisions for him? Someone to just take the control out of his hands so he could just be for awhile? Ezra laughed again. He detested taking orders-couldn't stand being told what to do. So how could he give anybody control over him? The clash of his needs made his head spin.

And now Buck was upset and angry with him and that twisted his gut. It had always bothered him when Buck had gotten angry and to have that anger now directed at him distressed him terribly. Why that was, he didn't know. He picked up the soap and began to absently wash himself. Before he had gone to North Dakota, he had felt that Buck's feelings about him were changing. There was something in his touch and in his look. Thinking back on it, he realized that he hadn't really minded it. He didn't mind when Buck had touched him though he had still pulled away from others' touch. And he hadn't bristled under Buck's mother hen routine although he had felt it necessary to keep up appearances by voicing complaints. The twinkle in Buck's eyes had let him know that Buck was not fooled by those complaints.

And there was the way Buck had just looked at him. His eyes may have been lowered but he had heard Buck's soft gasp and felt his appraising eyes. His body had been too tired to respond but his mind had certainly not objected. Did he feel that way about the man? Ezra honestly didn't know. His experience with sex and relationships could fit into a thimble. There had been a few hormone driven liaisons with young women in his teens. He tried to remember them. The sex, he supposed, had been satisfactory. Oh Ezra, that alone should tell you something. But being that close to somebody he really didn't know had made him nervous. The vulnerability and loss of control he had experienced in the heat of passion had nearly sent him into a panic attack. It was a wonder he remembered the sex at all. In college he had been too driven to keep his scholarship and the job that had given him his living expenses to indulge in casual flings and his vacations had been spent in accelerated courses so he could get his degree as soon as possible. He had gone through the academy with the same drive and by the time he had settled in his job, he was used to being alone. Even if he had wanted a relationship, he had absolutely no idea of how to go about one. He had had no experiences that would have taught him and. Lord knew, the examples set by Maude and her cohorts had not been exemplary.

Ezra reached out to turn off the water and his hand stilled in the act. Maybe, just maybe, Buck would be the one to teach him about relationships and love. Right now, he was too tired to think and just wanted to crawl into bed. Buck had said they were going out to the ranch. Well, Buck would just have to get him there. He probably would have to dress him and then undress him again, too. He'd undoubtedly fall asleep before he had his pants on.

Buck looked up as Ezra came into the bedroom. It was plain to see that the man was beyond tired. As quickly as he could, Buck helped Ezra to dress, keeping his eyes firmly away from the body in front of him and working mainly by touch. That alone was enough to get him going but Ezra was in no shape for any revelations tonight. Picking up the packed duffle, he guided the sleepy young man out the door, locked it and got him situated in the passenger seat of his truck. Ezra was asleep before they even pulled out of the driveway. Buck looked over at Ezra as they drove and contemplated his feelings for the man. There was physical desire alright -- how could there not be when Ezra was so beautiful. Buck did appreciate beautiful things. But there was more than that. There was affection, protectiveness, warmth and even possessiveness. And a strong desire to keep Ezra on the straight and narrow -- to see that he developed the common sense he was so in need of. He wasn't sure how he was going to accomplish that but he would do anything he had to.

Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove, Buck contemplated his options. He had to be sure he handled this relationship just right. Ezra was a tricky person to deal with. His brow furrowed as he thought and then he smiled. He had a few friends who were in relationships with young men like Ezra, friends he had kept in casual contact with over the years. Of course those young men were not exactly like his Ezra. They were far more open with their feelings than he was and far more vocal about them, too. One of them was even prone to the most outrageous temper tantrums. But in many ways they were alike-given to impulsive acts, a tendency to act before thinking things all the way through, heedless of their own safety and well-being. Buck remembered how his friends handled their young lovers. Would that kind of relationship work with Ezra? He reached out to turn on the radio and began to sing softly along with the country tune being played.

Ezra was sulking in the barn. He had woken up late that morning, having no idea how he had come to be in his pajama bottoms in his bed at the ranch. The last thing he remembered was walking out his door with Buck last night. He had stumbled out of the bathroom and into the kitchen in a desperate search for coffee only to find his six co-workers sitting down to lunch. Nathan had pulled him down into a chair, sat a plate in front of him and demanded he eat it all. Apparently Nathan had checked him out last night and had declared that, outside of having too many bruises and too little weight, he was fine. Ezra had started to protest but a low growl from Buck across the table had stopped his words in mid flow. "Ezra, eat." He had looked up then and seen the same look as he had seen in Buck's eyes when he had first walked into the condo last night. He dropped his eyes to his plate and began to eat as the others looked on in astonishment. Let them look. He was not about to get into it with Buck again. At least, not before he had had at least two cups of coffee.

He had just walked out of the bedroom after having gotten dressed when JD stopped him. When he was through, the others started in, one at a time. All but Buck. Buck had been waiting for JD to get his two cents in and then had gone outside with him. They were now cavorting around the front yard involved in some kind of complicated game. Ezra might not have remembered what happened after he and Buck had left the condo but he sure as hell remembered what had happened before. The whole time the others were castigating him, he had waited for Buck to say something. He had hoped the man would at least stick around so Ezra could talk to him about the feelings that were churning around inside him. Not that he could have actually talked about those feelings, but maybe Buck could have, should have, been able to discern them.

Damn, he had come in here on the pretext of seeing to Chaucer and he knew it would be only a matter of time before one of the others showed up. He didn't want to see, much less talk to, the others until he got his emotions under control or Buck came to him. One or the other. He went up the ladder to the hayloft and began looking for someplace to hide. Glancing up, he spied what looked to be the outline of a trapdoor to the roof. The roof would do nicely -- fresh air, sunshine and he would not need to secrete himself behind some musty hay bale. But could he get up there? Ah yes, there was a rope secured to a beam within reach of the door. He grabbed the rope and made short work of shimmying up it. With one hand he reached up and pushed on the door. It opened easily and in no time at all, he was up on the roof. He cautiously made his way over to the edge and sat with his legs swinging over. The view was glorious, the sun was warm and no one ever (well, hardly ever) looks up. He wondered if being out on the barn roof came under the category of foolish and life endangering stunts that Buck had been yelling about last night. If Buck knew he was out here -- well, at least it would get his attention.

Buck crowed his triumph over JD and trotted through the house to the kitchen. Taking a beer out of the refrigerator, he walked out onto the back porch just as Chris came around the side of the house.

Where's everyone?" Chris asked.

"Well, JD's out front washing my truck."

"He lost again, I take it."

"Oh yeah! Vin's playing some video game and Nathan and Josiah are doing something on the computer"

"That's everyone except Ezra. Where's he gone off to and when are you planning to say something to him?"

"Say what?"

"Oh come on now, Buck. I've known you too long for you to think you can hide things from me."

"I hide lots of things from you."

Chris chuckled. "Maybe, but not this. Why don't you just put yourself and that boy out of your collective miseries? I'm goin' in for a beer. Do you want another one?"

Chris was just coming back out with a beer in each hand when he spied movement up on the roof of the barn, movement that shouldn't have been there. Handing one of the beers to Buck, he shaded his eyes with his hand and took another look.

"Damn it to hell! What does he think he's doing?"

Buck looked up and then out toward where Chris was staring. He stood up swearing a blue streak.

"That's it! That's God damn it! That boy is gonna die. I'm going to kill him. When I get my hands on him, I'm gonna......"

The shouting died away as Buck entered the barn. Chris shook his head. The next few hours were going to be mighty interesting. But maybe for Buck's and certainly for Ezra's sake, he ought to round up the rest of the crew and have them make themselves scarce for awhile. Or at least he had better keep them from the barn. Grinning he entered the house and shut the kitchen door on the mayhem that was about to occur out in his barn.

Buck ignored the nickers of the horses and went straight to the ladder to the hayloft. Once up there he grabbed the rope hanging from the beam and climbed up and out of the open trap door.

"Ezra," he called his voice low and threaded with steel.

Ezra had been so far into his own thoughts that he hadn't heard Buck come out onto the roof but he did hear his name called. He turned his head and there was Buck. The expression on his face did not bode well for Ezra's future and his next words only confirmed that thought.

"Ezra, get your ass back in here. NOW!" Now that he knew he wasn't going to startle Ezra off the roof, Buck allowed his voice to convey all the anger he felt. "Now, Ezra," he repeated.

Ezra looked at Buck, looked around the roof and back at Buck again. There was no escape. And it wasn't like he hadn't expected something like this could happen. Taking a deep breath, he steadied his resolve and slowly crawled over to Buck. Buck sat on the edge of the opening and grabbed for the rope. He looked at Ezra and said, "I'm going down first. I want you down as soon as I'm on the floor. Is that understood?"

Ezra nodded. "Yes, sir." Sir? I just called Buck "Sir"? Where in all that's holy did that come from?

Buck was down the rope in no time and stood looking up as Ezra came down much more slowly. As soon as Ezra's feet touched the ground, Buck grabbed him and shook him.

"Have you taken leave of your senses, little boy? It rained last night and those shingles have got to be slippery. Are you trying to get yourself killed or hurt? " Buck was in a full out temper now. This was definitely the last straw and he was going to deal with the situation but the question was how. Talking to Ezra didn't work. The other five men had talked to him just a few hours ago and it had obviously done no good. Yelling at him didn't do much better. He had certainly yelled at Ezra last night and it hadn't made any impression at all. He didn't think his yelling right now was working either. His right palm began to itch and he stopped yelling and looked down at it. He remembered again how his old friends dealt with their misbehaving lovers and an idea began to grow in his mind-his subconscious had evidently been trying to tell him something and this time he was listening.

Suddenly, he knew exactly what he was going to do. Looking around he spotted a hay bale that was just the right height and dragged Ezra over to it. Sitting down on it, he yanked on Ezra's arm and toppled him across his lap. Before Ezra could open his mouth to object, Buck had grabbed his right wrist in his left hand and had pulled it under his waist. Buck's left arm held him tightly against his stomach. With his right hand Buck reached under Ezra's body and unsnapped and unzipped his jeans in two seconds flat.

Ezra suddenly came out of the shock he had fallen into when Buck had hauled him down. "What do you think you're doing? Let me up this instant, Buck!" Ezra began to wriggle and squirm trying to get out of Buck's grasp.

Buck paid him no mind at all. Just reached up, and tugging on his waistband, pulled his jeans down to his knees. Then he reached up and pulled Ezra's boxers down the same way. Ezra's ivory buttocks lay before him. It seemed such a shame to cause pain to such perfection but it had to be done. Ezra had to learn to think before he acted, to reign in his more dangerous impulses. Besides, if Buck had his way, there would be plenty of opportunities to admire those globes in their pristine condition. Buck had no idea exactly when he had finally made up his mind that he and Ezra were going to be a couple, but made it up he had. And once Buck Wilmington made up his mind there was little that could be done to change it.

Ezra gasped as his jeans were pulled down and his boxers followed the same path. Buck couldn't, he wouldn't... A heavy slap came down on his backside. Oh God, Buck would. He began to wriggle in earnest now but the slaps landed anyway and the sting built until it became a burn. The burn flamed into real pain as his backside changed color. What once had been ivory was now a deep dark red and still the slaps came down. Ezra's breath began hitching and a sob tore at his throat. He tried to keep quiet but the pleas forced their way out of his mouth and he was mortified to realize the voice begging Buck to stop and promising never to do anything bad again was his. Tears were streaming down his face and he could barely hear the words Buck was saying -- something about endangering his life, taking risks. He cried out and made more promises.

Buck kept the spanking going until Ezra collapsed across his lap, all the fight going out of him. The pleas and promises were barely intelligible now through the sobs and tears. He landed two more hard spanks and then rested his hand on the hot red bottom for a moment before slowly beginning to rub it. His other hand released Ezra's wrist and began rubbing circles on his back. "Hush now. Hush, little boy. It's all over and everything's going to be all right now." He kept murmuring comfort sounds and rubbing Ezra's back until the desperate crying had calmed down into quiet tears. Gently he pulled up the boxers and jeans and standing Ezra up between his legs he pulled them all the way up. Ezra gasped at that and shivered, still crying. Buck quickly pulled him onto his lap and cuddled him close, tucking Ezra's head beneath his chin. He once again began rubbing his back and talking to him softly until the crying died away to soft hitches in Ezra's breathing.

"We'd better get back down that ladder before you fall asleep, Ezra. Don't think I could carry you down." He stood up pulling Ezra up with him and guided the young man to the ladder. Going down first he reached up and helped Ezra down. Ezra turned and threw his arms around Buck's neck again holding on tightly as fresh tears fell. Buck hugged him and rocked him slightly as they stood there. He continued until he felt Ezra's knees begin to buckle and knew that he was on the verge of falling asleep. Reaching down he slid one arm under Ezra's knees and picked him up, cradling him against his chest. He walked out of the barn and slowly up to the house.

Chris watched as Buck came through the kitchen carrying Ezra. The other men were engrossed in a movie and didn't bother to look up. Chris had explained earlier that Buck and Ezra had things to deal with and that no one was to do or say anything no matter what happened. He had trusted Buck not to kill Ezra or even to get violent with him. From the tear stains on Ezra's cheeks, he might had been a little too trusting but Buck smiled at him and mouthed "It's OK". Chris continued watching as Buck carried the sleeping form into the bedroom he usually shared with JD. Then he went back into the living room and spoke quietly into Vin's ear. Vin looked up at him, smiled and nodded.

When the movie was over, Vin held JD back as everyone headed to the kitchen for a snack and told him quietly that he would be bunking in with Vin tonight. JD's grin lit up his face at those words. He and Vin looked at each other, high fived, and walked into the kitchen telling the others to leave some food for them and not to be such vultures.

In the bedroom, Buck laid Ezra face down on top of the covers and quickly undressed him, leaving him in only a t-shirt. He then went down the hall and into Chris's bathroom and rummaged around in the medicine cabinet until he found the aloe vera lotion. Going back into his own room, he carefully rubbed the lotion into Ezra's red bottom. Putting the lotion on the nightstand, he pulled down the covers on one side of the bed and gently maneuvered Ezra onto that side. After pulling the blankets back up to Ezra's shoulders, he undressed himself and slid into the bed on the other side. Turning to Ezra he tugged him closer and wrapped his arm around Ezra's shoulder, tucking his head once more under his chin. He pulled the covers up over himself and settled down thinking that he could get used to this. It was still very early and he hadn't had supper but he didn't want Ezra to be alone just now. Smiling, he thought how good his love what a wonderful word felt against him and closed his eyes for a brief nap.

It was much later and very early in the morning when movement from the figure curled against him woke him up. "Ez, babe, you all right?" Buck asked.

"Bathroom," came the sleepy reply. Ezra slid off the bed and stood on trembling legs. Buck quickly slid out after him and put his arm around the young man. Ezra leaned into him as Buck guided him to the bathroom down the hall.

"Need any help?"

"I learned to do this a long time ago, Buck." Ezra gave Buck a slight smile and walked into the bathroom. Coming out, he found Buck leaning against the wall waiting for him. Once again Buck's arm went around him and once again he leaned into the man as Buck walked them both back into the bedroom closing the door behind them.

Buck gently lowered Ezra down onto the bed on his side and then nudged him over so he could climb in too. He had expected Ezra to object to or at least say something about them both being in the same bed together. He knew that he had come to his own conclusions yesterday but didn't know what Ezra thought or felt about anything. He hoped Ezra was just as much in love with him as he was with Ezra. Because he was in love with Ezra. It had been slow in coming to fruition but it was there. Of course, Ezra had not known this was all happening and really hadn't had time to fall in love with him. He would have to go slowly and carefully, making sure that Ezra knew he was fully committed to this relationship and just hope that, in time, Ezra would come to feel the same about him. He was not, however, going to apologize for the spanking. Ezra had had that coming to him and not just for the misdeeds of yesterday and the past week, either.

Ezra wriggled a little trying to get comfortable again. It had been somewhat of a surprise waking up to find himself curled up against Buck, his head resting on Buck's chest. But he had been very comfortable despite the soreness of his backside. He wanted that secure, safe, warm feeling again. It was Buck who was responsible for that feeling just as it was Buck who was responsible for his sore bottom. Thinking about the spanking he had gotten yesterday made him blush. He couldn't say he didn't deserve it. He couldn't even say he hadn't gone up onto that roof just for that reason. Well, he certainly hadn't expected a spanking out of it but he had gone up there to get Buck's attention. And, boy, had he gotten it!

Buck felt Ezra's wriggling and pulled him closer, spooning around him from behind. He nuzzled into Ezra's hair and then, unable to stop himself, kissed the tip of the ear peaking out from the chestnut curls. Ezra immediately rolled over, wincing as his backside briefly came in contact with the bed before coming to rest on his other side.

Ezra leaned back and looked up at Buck. There was little light in the room but Ezra swore he could see the love shining from Buck's eyes. How he hoped it was love because he had come to realize that he loved Buck with a passion that almost scared him.

He tentatively raised his hand and traced one finger down Buck's jaw. Buck grabbed the finger and placed a gentle kiss on it. He looked into Ezra's eyes and, satisfied with what he saw there; he leaned down and placed his lips over Ezra's. He traced his tongue over the sweet lips that lay beneath his and nipped the bottom one. The gasp Ezra gave let him slip his tongue into Ezra's mouth and the kiss deepened. Harder and deeper kisses followed and Buck was delighted to realize that Ezra was responding with ardor. He kissed Ezra's eyelids and then down his cheek to his ear. He nibbled on the ear and the soft skin behind it and then worked his way down the jaw line to Ezra's throat.

Sitting up, he pulled Ezra up slightly and worked the t-shirt up and over Ezra's head. Tossing it on the floor he laid Ezra back down and kissed his way across the collarbones and down Ezra's chest. He stopped at the nipples, kissing and nipping at one while his fingers pinched and twisted the other. Ezra was breathing hard and breathy little moans and gasps encouraged Buck to continue. Transferring his mouth to the nipple his fingers had been working on, he caressed his hand down Ezra's side and across his stomach. Rubbing light circles there, he played for awhile with the belly button and then slid down to kiss it, tickling Ezra with his moustache. Ezra giggled and then whimpered as Buck trailed his kisses down to the curls surrounding Ezra's cock. It no longer lay quiet and flaccid. It was now erect and even more beautiful to Buck than it had been when he had seen it at Ezra's condo the other night. He put both hands on Ezra's hips and bent down to lick at the head.

Ezra just about arched off the bed when Buck began to lick and kiss him. Shivers and frissons of delight raced up and down his spine. He hadn't known anything could feel this good. His whimpers of passion grew as Buck's mouth moved down and lavished attention on his balls.

"Do you like this, baby," murmured Buck as he moved back up to slide his mouth over Ezra's cock.

"Oh God, Buck, yes. It feels so good, please..."

"Please what, baby? Tell me." Buck sucked and swallowed moving gently up and down and flicking his tongue around the head. "Please what?"

"I... I don't...Please, Buck, please."

Buck lifted his head watching Ezra's head thrashing on the pillow. Listening to the pleas and whimpers, knowing he was giving Ezra such pleasure. And wanting to give him even more.

"Do you want me inside of you, Ezra? Do you?"

"I've never... I... please, yes, God, yes."

Buck moved up and pulled Ezra into his arms. Placing kisses on his forehead and rubbing his shoulders and back. "You've never been with a man before, have you?"

"No, but, please Buck, I want to be with you."

"It's O.K. It's all right. We'll go slow and easy." Buck began kissing Ezra again and Ezra kissed back clutching at Bucks shoulders. Bucks hands roamed over Ezra's body, touching, stroking and fondling, fanning the flames of Ezra's desire. When he had Ezra panting and whimpering in need once again, Buck gently rolled Ezra on his side facing away from him. Ezra cried out at the loss of contact but Buck quickly reached his hand over and began stroking Ezra again.

"Shhhh, little one. It's going to be fine. It'll be easier on you this way the first time."

"But I want to see you."

"I know but I want this to be right for you. It'll be O.K. You'll see." Buck continued caressing and fondling while he reached for the aloe vera lotion he had left on the night stand the night before. He poured some on his fingers and placed one at the entrance to Ezra's body. He ran it around and around and then massaged the pucker before sliding one finger in. Ezra gasped and stiffened.

"Just....just wait a moment...I'll be ready in a moment."

"All the time you need, babe, all the time you need. It'll feel good, I promise you.." Buck stroked Ezra's side and down across his belly. When Ezra's breathing had eased and his body relaxed, Buck began to gently slide his finger in and out and then rotated it.. Ezra's breathing quickened and he moaned. Buck continued to slowly prepare and stretch Ezra until Ezra began to thrust back onto Buck's fingers himself. Buck kissed and nuzzled Ezra's neck. "Are you ready?" A whimper and a barely heard keening answered him.

Buck reached over and opened the night stand drawer. He felt around until he found the condom he had remembered placing there sometime before. Opening it quickly, he rolled it on himself and stroked on more lotion. Placing one hand on Ezra's hip and using the other to guide the tip of his cock against Ezra's opening, he murmured, "Here we go, love"

Ezra tried to relax when he felt the head of Buck's penis push in on him. Slowly the pressure increased, burning and stretching until at last the head popped through. Ezra's legs trembled and he grabbed onto to the arm Buck had around his waist now. He didn't know how he was going to do this but it was for Buck and he would do anything for Buck. Buck had told him it would feel good and he had to believe that, eventually, it would. Buck had never lied to him. Buck was crooning to him -- nonsense words of comfort and love and he slowly began to relax. As he did so, he realized that the burning had eased off somewhat and the feeling of fullness was actually pleasant. He moved a little and Buck began to ease his way in further, going in slightly and then stopping until Ezra moved again. Little by little Ezra felt the full length of Buck enter him until at last, he was fully impaled. Again Buck stopped and waited. His arm came from around Ezra's waist and began to stroke his belly again. This time it was Ezra that was crooning.

Buck began to rock slightly as Ezra became more vocal. Soon he was sliding his cock back and forth, changing the angle to slide over Ezra's prostrate. Ezra cried out and jerked. Buck pulled back and pushed in again at the same angle and Ezra began to thrust against him, moaning and keening as he moved in counterpoint to Buck. Their movements became more and more frantic as they both cried out in pleasure. Buck moved his hand to Ezra's cock and started stroking it. A few strokes and Ezra was bucking against his hand, coming hard and calling his name. His passionate cries and movements brought Buck to his own climax seconds later and he clutched at Ezra thrusting powerfully before collapsing against Ezra's back. He moved his arm up to Ezra's chest and held him tightly while Ezra hugged his arm and they both began to settle slowly back down. When their breathing had returned to normal and Ezra had stopped trembling, Buck eased himself out and quickly took of the condom and tied it off. Kissing Ezra's forehead, he murmured, "I'll be right back" and silently opened the door to disappear down the hallway into the bathroom. He reappeared seconds later and reclosed the door. He had a warm wet washcloth and he lovingly washed across Ezra's chest and stomach. Dropping the cloth down next to the bed he lay back down and gathered Ezra into his arms. He kissed him gently but thoroughly and settled him down on his chest.

"I love you, you know, my little one."

"I love you too, Buck. Are you always going to call me "little one"?"

Buck laughed. "Probably. You are my "little one". And you always will be. Now we've got an hour or so before the others get up so go on back to sleep now."

Buck reached down to pull the covers back over them and settled Ezra more firmly against his chest. One large hand came up to slowly caress the curls tickling his chin.

"Buck? Are you awake, Buck? I want to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"You hit me"

"That's not a question. And I didn't hit you. I spanked you."

"Are you going to do it again?"

"Yes. Go to sleep."

"Oh." It was a very small "oh", forlorn and a little questioning.

Buck rubbed a finger under Ezra's chin, raising his head so he could see his eyes.

"Ezra, I didn't enjoy spanking you."

Green eyes filled with indignation. "I never assumed that you did!"

"Hush now, let me finish. I didn't enjoy it. But I love you, baby, more than I've ever loved anyone or anything in my life and I'm not going to let anything or anyone harm you again, even you. If it takes spanking you to keep you safe, then I'll do what I have to do."

The indignation grew. "Buck, I've been taking care of myself for a long time."

"Too long. And, lately, you haven't been doing too good a job of it. All this time I've been watching you, I've seen a lot. Most of it fine. I've seen intelligence, bravery, loyalty, compassion and a real good heart. No, don't bother trying to deny it. I don't know if it's the love that was growing but I seem to be seeing you a lot clearer lately. You do have a good heart. But I've seen other things, too. You don't take care of yourself. You don't eat right and what you do eat, you don't eat enough of. You don't get near enough sleep. You can get so involved with what you're doing that you forget to take time for a break, you forget to stop and go home. I've seen you wear yourself out to practically nothing. That's not even counting what happens when you're undercover. And, Ezra, some of the things you've done....."

Ezra squirmed. Some of those things were better left forgotten.. Perhaps a little misdirection was in order. He began to nuzzle and kiss Buck's chest.

"Oh no. We're not done talking yet."

"We're talking?"

"O.K. So I'm talking and I'm not done yet. You're trying to distract me, take control because you don't like where this conversation is going. Well, it's not gonna work, Ezra, not this time. That control of yours hasn't done you any favors. You keep everything bottled up and that's not good. And when you can't control a situation, you get real frustrated and start snipping away at everybody." Ezra closed his eyes and suddenly flashed back to the thoughts he had had in the shower the night he'd returned from North Dakota. Buck wasn't saying anything he hadn't said to himself. "You're right, I know, Buck. I...I had much the same thoughts the other night."

"That what kept you in the shower so long?"

"Yes, only I couldn't seem to come to any conclusion. I can't even make a decision of any kind any more!" Ezra was sounding more and more distressed and began trembling in Buck's arms. He hated showing such weakness in front of the man he loved. What would Buck think of him now? He was falling to pieces and he didn't even have the excuse of a spanking this time.

"It's all right, baby, it's fine. You don't have to be in control for me. You just being the way you feel pleases me. I want to see the real you now all the time. And don't you worry any about decisions and conclusions. For now, I'll make all the decisions. You just leave everything to me and you rest. I'll talk to Chris later today about us both taking a couple of days off and we'll get this all sorted out." Buck began rocking slightly and carding his fingers through Ezra's hair. "You rest now. I'll take care of everything."

Ezra slowly calmed and relaxed. Somehow the thought of Buck taking care of everything was comforting. To his surprise the thought of Buck being in control didn't even really bother him. Perhaps being able to relax and just be was worth having someone tell him what to do. Well as long as that someone was Buck.

It was quiet for some time and Buck hoped that Ezra had fallen asleep. He himself was beginning to doze off when Ezra began wriggling. He waited patiently for the wriggling to stop. Only Ezra kept on, seemingly trying to burrow his way into Buck.

"Ezra, go to sleep." The big hand left his head and smacked his bottom hard. A kiss on the cheek followed. "Go to sleep!"

Ezra huffed and reached back to delicately rub at his backside. "That's not amusing!"

"No, I don't guess it is."

Ezra huffed again and rubbed his face against Buck's chest. "You're smiling. I can tell."

"Just thinking about something JD said."

"Hmmmm."

"Apparently you once told him that being an undercover agent was the same as being a con man and that's why instead of common sense, you have con man sense. Unfortunately, while common sense might keep you out of trouble, apparently con man sense doesn't."

"Con man? Oh God, that's an atrocious pun. It's got to be JD's worst yet. And, no, I guess it doesn't work to keep me out of misfortune." A yawn mangled the last few words.

"'S good though," Ezra mumbled.

"Good?"

"Huh-Huh. It brought me here and it brought me you."

"It did, indeed, though this wasn't quite the way I had figured on us getting together."

"S all right." Ezra yawned again and snuggled deeper into Buck. "Want to be yours."

"You are mine forever and I am yours forever, too. But now its time for sleep. So sleep."

Ezra tried to fall asleep. He hugged Buck tighter and then began wriggling again.

"Ezra....!"

"I liked it, the loving. I liked it a lot."

"I know, love. I liked it, too. Now, go to sleep!"

Ezra grumbled and muttered and the soft rumble of Buck's laughter soothed him into sleep.

END