Rubbing his temples Chris glanced once more down on the papers in front of him. Then he sighed.

"Ok, Ezra, I give up. How you and Vin managed to get caught speeding with a goddamn bus is beyond me."

Green eyes watched him with a curious expression. "I believe I have already explained that certain part to you, Mr. Larabee... We needed means of getting away from that rather large band of miscreants that seemed more than set on inflicting great physical harm to our persons."

A hand waved in the air. "Not arguing about that, what I wanted to know was how the road police managed to actually catch you. Nevertheless how you got that old worndown thing going fast enough for the cops to pull you over for speeding." He got a delicate shrug in repsonse.

"You will have to ask Mr. Tanner for that piece of information as he was the designated chauffeur for the evening. I had more than enough with keeping on my feet."

Ducking his head to hide the smile, Chris shook his head. Then he leaned back in his chair. "Maybe I'll do that. Well, I guess that was it. The judge called, by the way, about some clean-up work on the Berliotti case. He might be wanting to send you back in...." He noticed that he had lost his undercover agent's attention and looked at him. "Ez? You ok there?" The expression on the younger man's face made him frown.

Ezra didn't answer the question, just seemed to be watching something on the floor. Paling, he stumbled back a step. Then he gave a mighty leap, ending up on the middle of Chris' desk.

Studying the scene in silence, Chris took a moment to think. He had a ridiculous amount of work to catch up with, which meant due hours of overtime He couldn't do that work with a small greeneyed redhead taking up residence on his desk. Not even if it was a very cute redhead. Taking in the picture, he thought some more. No, he sadly thought. He definitively couldn't

"Ezra? You mind telling me why you're on my desk?"

Huge green eyes were turned his way.

"Spider."

"Spider?"

A finger pointed to the floor. "Spider. On the floor." Ezra shuddered, gathering his feet underneath him. "Hate them." He turned back to Chris who blinked.

"Wow. I think that is the shortest thing I've ever heard you say, Ez." The look in the narrowing eyes set him chuckling. "So you don't like spiders, huh? You know, if that thing wants to meet you, all it has to do is crawl up the front of the desk..."

In one second flat he found himself with a lapfull of frightened Southerner.

Ok, so that wasn't the right thing to say. The feel of arms tightened around his neck made him revise that. Maybe it was right, but he would be the first to admit it hadn't been a very nice thing to say. Oh well...

Sighing very deeply and not completely truthfully, Chris looped his arms around Ezra's waist. "You want me to go get rid of the big, bad spider then, agent Standish?"

Vigorous nodding. "Most certainly."

Trying to get up resulted in Ezra clinging tighter to him. "Ez? You need to get off."

"No way."

"What? Look, I won't put you down on the floor. I'll set you right back on the desk..."

"Not a chance, Mr. Larabee."

"But why... Oh. It's not going to come up on my desk, you know."

"Then why did you say it?"

"I was just... Oh shoot. Allright, here we go then. Hang on." Pushing himself out of his chair, Chris felt arms and legs clasping tightly around his neck and waist. Then Ezra leaned back so much that he could point to a spot on the floor in front of Chris' desk.

"There it is. Step on it, flush it down a toilet, throw it out, shoot it, I don't rightly care. Just please remove that vilesome creature from me."

Stepping around his desk, Chris had to look around a bit before he saw the small, black spot on the floor.

"You're afraid of that little thing? Sheesh, you face deadly criminals most days of the week and don't even blink. And you're scared of a tiny, little..." The heel of an expensive, Italian leather shoe dug into the small of his back. "Ow. Nevermind."

Taking another step, Chris put his bootclad foot down on the unfortunate spider. "There. All gone."

Carefully Ezra looked down to the squashed, black mark. "Are you quite sure that it's really dead?"

"Well, I could have Nathan come in and check for a pulse..."

"Mr. Larabee! I am not joking!"

Forcing his face into a more somber expression, Chris continued. "It's really, really dead, Ez. Or I could just carry you like this, back to your desk...."

"No! I mean..." Untangling himself from Chris, Ezra let himself slide down to the floor. "Imagine the horror, I'd never be able to live it down." Elegantly sidestepping the flattened spider he looked up at Chris. "Please promise me that you will never delay this little incident to any of the other five? To anyone at all?"

Not able to stand for the pleading look in those green eyes, Chris shook his head. "I won't. And should they find out any way, well then I have enough dirt on them to shut them up." He had sensed the small gambler's obvious embarrasment and felt proud as he received a reluctant smile.

"Do share, Mr. Larabee."

Leaning closer with a conspiratory look in his hazel eyes, Chris grinned. "Mice. Never let anything small, furry and with a long tail get close to Buck. Or vice versa for that matter. He shrieks like a girl."

The shorter man's smile deepened, showing off dimples. "Really?"

"Yep. And Vin's terrified of snakes, any kind, he even gets the chills from earthworms. Nathan on the other hand gets hysterical if you come near him with a needle."

For a second Ezra looked completely stunned. "Nathan? Our Nathan? Who seems to find perverse pleasure in sticking sharp, pointy objects in other, misfortunate people? He is afraid of needles?"

"He sure is. Every year, during vaccinal renewals and bloodtests, I all but have to hold his hand." Enjoying the unabashed look of mirth on his normally cool and collected undercover agent's face, Chris moved on to JD.

"The kid's afraid of chickens."

Curved eyebrows drew together. "Whatever for?"

"He can't stand the squeaking."

"We are talking about the same thing, aren't we? Poultry? Yellow balls of feather?"

"Yep. Imagine what Easter must be like for him."

Beyond chuckling now, Ezra had to lean onto Chris because he was laughing so hard.

"Oh my Lord..." Watching Chris' smiling face, he gave him a look that was nearly challenging. "What about Mr. Sanchez? Josiah isn't afraid of anything!"

There was just enough hero worship in the tone of voice to make a mischievous glint show itself in hazel eyes. Leaning down, he whispered something in Ezra's ear.

The green eyes grew impossibly round. Then a helpless snicker escaped. "Mr. Larabee, you have to be kidding."

Chris folded his arms over his chest. "Nope."

Another snicker. "Lawn gnomes?"

"Claims they stare at him. Even shot one only last year."

It only took one shared look before the two agents dissolved into laughter.

"You haven't told me your secret fear yet," Ezra commented as they had calmed down some.

"Like I'm telling you," Chris replied, his smile taking the sting out of the words. "No, I think I'll just sit back and watch you wreck havoc out there with what I've already told you." Or just sit back and watch you. That last statement stayed inside his mind.

Holding up his hands, Ezra returned the smile. "Alright, I give. Not that I won't find a way to procure that certain piece of information later, but I will let it go for now." He placed a small, strong hand on Chris' arm, gazing up at him. "You have been a true knight in shining..." The gaze dropped a little lower. "Jeans..." Momentarily distracted by the sight of snugfitting black jeans, the rest of the sentence took a little while coming.

"Hmmm, where was I? Oh...yes, your gallant rescue. I'd like to thank you for that." Then, very quickly, before he could lose his nerve, Ezra rose to his toes and pressed his lips to Chris'. Lingering on for a second, he let his free hand curl around the back of the taller man's neck. Forgetting to breathe, with an enoyable shiver racing through him, Ezra brought them just a little closer.

The fact that he was getting close to losing himself in the sweet sensation, made Ezra forcefully regain his composure. Withdrawing, he kept his head bent, not daring to look at his companion. He backed up a few steps and felt the doorknob underneath his hand. Then he fled.

He had kissed Chris Larabee. Actually placed his lips on top of their illustrious leader's lips and kissed him. He had to be crazy. More than crazy. He obviously had a death wish. Thank the good Lord that he wasn't required to stay in the office after his little, impulsive stunt...

Stunt?

He was spending much too much time with Buck and JD. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Ezra discovered that he was nearly at the parking lot in front of the office building. He could have driven there in his sleep. Which actually was the case, most mornings.

Extracting himself from the sleek, black Jag, the sight of the familiar Ram sent a variation of emotions through him. "Don't worry," he tried to cheer himself up. "You can talk your way out of anything. And if he pulls a gun.... Well, then you can run really, really fast."

Being fashionably late as always, Ezra opened the door to their office space and peered inside. No sign of Chris. Then a hand landed on his shoulder, sending him jumping over the treshold with a highly undignified squawk of surprise. Three pairs of eyes lifted to greet him. Spinning around, Ezra met two more.

"Feeling jumpy today?" Buck grinned. JD merely gave him a curious look.

"Ahm... Good morning, gentlemen. I... I have to go." Slipping past Josiah, Ezra headed for his desk. Seeing what was waiting for him, he stopped short.

Resting on the keyboard of his computer was a large stuffed toy. Not just any toy, mind you, but a large, black and white spider complete with big, staring eyes and eight, wiggly legs. For a second all he could do was stare at it. A blush crept over the Southerner's face, making him sneak a shy glance towards Chris' office. As he expected the door was open, holding a tall blond. Chris was leaning to the door frame, a small, unreadable smile on his face. Catching Ezra looking at him, the smile broadened and he silently toasted the chestnut haired man with his cup of coffee. Blush getting worse, Ezra ducked behind his computer screen and hid. Big, beady plastic eyes stared up at him from the keyboard. Maybe things wasn't as bad as he had first feared after all.

"So," Buck's voice reached him. "Who's the bug from?"

"Technically, Mr. Wilmington," Ezra cradled the 'bug' in his arms. "It's an arachnoid. Bugs, as you so eloquently put it, has six legs. Spiders have eight."

"You're still getting awfully friendly with the creature," Buck observed. "Wanna tell us who he's from?"

Hugging the stuffed spider closer, Ezra shook his head no. "You will have to ask my friend here that. And I am afraid he isn't telling either."

Studying them from his own desk, Josiah had seen the careful glance to their leader's office and used his common sense, which Chris still refused to believe that any of his team members posessed, to apply two and two and get four. Three, actually. Two men and an eightlegged teddybear. Biding his time he decided that a talk with Chris would need to be acquired.

The opportunity came shortly after the lunch break. Josiah waited for the printer to cough up the seventeen pages of his report and strolled towards Chris' door. Knocking; it never hurt to be polite, he pushed the door open. Placing the report down on the one corner of the desk that wasn't already covered in papers and files, Josiah placed himself down in one of the armchairs and waited.

"Things ok out there?" Chris made one last note on the piece of paper he was looking over, then put it down. "It's much too quiet."

"Well, believe it or not, they're all working. Or doing something that requires them to sit still in front of their own computers. If not for JD's occasional fidgeting and Nathan's sharpening his pencil every third minute, I'd be worried about them. Even Sherman is being very still."

"Sherman?"

"Yes. Sherman, the spider. Ezra's new friend. He is sitting on the corner of the desk, a few legs folded." He thought he could see Chris hide a smile.

"Is that so. So he named it Sherman...figures. I'm sure he hasn't told anyone who placed it on his desk? Must be driving the rest of them crazy."

"A little bit," Josiah admitted, grinning. "Not Vin though. He just bought Sherman a bag of glow-in-the-dark plastic flies and let it be with that." He paused a little before continuing. "You know, when I first saw the spider, I have to say I was a bit worried about Ezra's reaction. I mean, he is absolutely terrified of those things. But he took remarkably well to Sherman. Not at all as I had expected... I remember once out at the ranch, a spider came spiralling down from the roof, almost landing on Ezra. I thought the boy was going to faint dead away." He rubbed a thoughtful hand over his chin. "I've never seen anyone lose their colour so fast."

Chris was quietly looking at him, realising what the older man was getting at. "Good thing you were there to look out for him then, 'Siah."

"Sure was. I reckon the boy needs to be looked after a bit, even if he doesn't feel so himself. If I can help it, nothing, or nobody, is going to get to hurting him."

Taking the silent warning for what it was, Chris gave a reassuring smile. "That's the way we all feel, Josiah." No matter what it is, spiders or getting his heart broken, he silently added. He would personally see to that the last didn't happen. Well, he and Sherman.

Pleased with what he saw in the younger man's eyes, Josiah got out of the chair. "Well, I should be getting back. Every now and then Nathan launches into a speech about poisonous spiders and how we should all need to know how to treat any bites. He usually escalates into the subject of poisonous snakes after a while, making Vin look a little queasy as well. Of course Buck and JD encourages Nate, and I wouldn't be too sure of that what's keeping Vin and Ezra in front of their computers isn't that they are plotting revenge using the inter-office communication system."

"I thought you said they were working?"

"Did I? Sorry, must have confused it with them actually sitting still. I never thought that would happen unless Nathan made good of his threath about slipping sleeping pills into their coffees. Not that that would have made any difference if Vin had made the coffee. That brew of his is strong enough to climb out of the pot and come over to shake your hand."

"And that is why we now have two coffee makers," Chris concluded. "Last time I had a cup of Vin's coffee, I didn't close an eye for four nights in a row. Not fun when you're all alone."

Josiah smiled, just about to open the door. "Just make sure that you get some of that coffee into your...friend as well, brother Chris. He sure does love to sleep, that one." The shocked look on Chris' face had Josiah's smile transforming into laughter. Closing the door again, he took a deep breath and turned to the room.

Chaos.

Of course.

Was that chickens' noises he heard coming from JD's computer? And why was the kid underneath his desk instead of on his chair? Walking over Josiah noticed that the background image on Nathan's computer had been changed into a large picture of a syringe complete with a long, shining needle. He turned to Buck's computer and found himself eye to eye with a mouse standing on its hind legs. Completing his small survery he found the two last agents looking smug.

Around him Buck, JD and Nathan had come to the same conclusion as he had, as to who was to blame for what had mysteriously appeared on their computer screens. Blue eyes met green. Then there was a mad scramble for the door, as the team's undercover agent and sharpshooter were chased by revenge-promising co-workers with nothing short of murder on their minds.

"Well," Josiah sat down. "Then it's just you and me, Sherman." Plastic eyes stared back at him with a steady look. "Yeah, I know. They do seem to all of a sudden transform into preschoolers from time to time..." Leaning back he took a drink from his coffee mug and winced as he realised that it was Vin's. "Lord almighty, where did he learn to make coffee like this? Tastes like paint thinner...nevermind. So, Sherman, let me tell you about Chris and Ez.... You'll like them. Not as much as they like each other, but you'll like them. About the rest of the gang....well, you'll get used to them."

The conversation was cut short as the rest of his team mates came back, Vin and Ezra looking appropriorately subdued.

"I am pleased to see that you didn't strangle them after all," Josiah greeted them, taking another swallow of the coffee. After a few sips it really wasn't so bad.

"No," JD had a large smile of his face. "We came up with something much better." He ignored the set of groans from behind him. "Next video night we're watching Arachnophobia and Anaconda."

"Cruel and unusual punishment," a Southern voice piped up. A Western accent followed up, informing them that it was against the Geneva convention.

"Oh shush," Nathan silenced them. "Now what I want to know is who told you two airheads about our..."

"Phobias?" Ezra piped up again, then quickly shut his mouth at the look on Nathan's face.

"What the heck's going on here?"

To everyone's surprise, including Ezra's, he hurriedly moved across the floor and hid behind Chris.

"Nothing."

Vin agreed, using Josiah as a shield of his own. "Absolutely nothing, cowboy."

"You two in trouble again?"

"No... Well, maybe a little."

"But it wasn't our fault."

Chris sent Vin a doubtful look. "Is it ever? Ok, tell me, what did you do this time?"

Buck, JD and Nathan had a quick conference, then they all met their boss' eyes.

"It's nothing. Nothing to make a fuss about, really. Let's just forget about the whole thing."

"We..." Vin started, only to have Josiah place a quick hand over his mouth.

"I swear, boy, you're getting as bad as Ez."

Ezra was about to speak, but settled for a glare in Josiah's direction.

Then he couldn't help himself. "They are going to make me watch Arachnophobia, Mr. Larabee. That is not fair."

"Hey! I have to watch Anaconda. That's not fair either."

"Oh please, Mr. Tanner. I've seen that movie. Miss Nettie's garden hose looks more convincing than what they call a snake."

"It does?"

"Yes. The only frightening thing about that movie is how exceptionally bad it is and that someone actually was paid for making it."

"Good."

Chris turned a little, speaking quietly over his shoulder. "Arachnophobia? I've seen that movie, spiders crawling everywhere..."

"You're not helping," Ezra informed him, as matter of factly as ever. His heart was pounding a little extra, which had nothing to do with the threat of being forced to watch bad horror movies. He had no doubt whatsoever that he would be able to weasel his way out of that. And if he was in a good mood, he'd weasel Vin out of it as well. His situation with the tall, lean blond in front of him was a whole other matter.

"Well, guys, I am going to veto the movies." At the immediate sound of protests Chris held his hands up. "Only because I've seen them both and they're bad. Really, terribly bad. And I kinda need my undercover agent and sharpshooter sane." The silence was answer enough. "Ok, as sane as possible. I'll leave it up to you guys to find a more suitable revenge. Preferably one that doesn't involve me bailing anyone out of jail, anybody breaking anything or somebody needing a time out in an emergency room."

"You sure know how to take the fun outta things."

"What was that, Buck?"

"Nothing. Didn't say a word."

"That's what I thought." Chris aimed a knowing smirk at the taller man. "Now, if you all have gotten that out of your systems, I suggest you go back to work."

Back at his own desk Vin leaned over to Ezra who was seated next to him. "That could have been nasty."

"I don't think we're quite in the clear yet, my friend. Chris, I mean Mr. Larabee, didn't say they couldn't, only that they needed to find other means."

"Damn. You're right."

Sharing a look they both had a bad feeling about the coming day.

Most of the day had gone by peacefully. Chris enjoyed the peace and quiet, knowing that it wasn't going to last. If he knew Buck and the two others like he thought he did, a well-plotted revenge was on the coming, aimed at Vin and Ezra. Hoping that they didn't figure out just how Ezra had come across the information, Chris was busy doing some plotting on his own, on how to approach a certain, smoothtalking Southerner.

As it should turn out he didn't have to wait long. An absolutely terrified shriek could be heard, then the sound of running feet. Before Chris could react the door to his office was torn open and slammed shut again. Leaning his back to the door, Ezra had a somewhat wildeyed look about him.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "What did they do?"

"Spider. Live one. On my desk. Huge, hairy...did I mention huge?"

"I see. What about Vin? Where is he, by the way?"

"Probably half way to Texas by now. Buck and JD had coiled a enormous rubber snake around his computer. He never noticed that it wasn't real. For a moment I thought he was going to jump out of the window. Then Nathan blocked the door out, and I...ran in here...to you." The flow of words came slowly to a halt. "Oh."

Getting out of his chair, Chris walked slowly over to the door. Feeling like a small mouse in front of a large cat, all Ezra could do was to stare at him. Then he was unceremoniously picked up and kissed until he saw stars.

"Wha... I mean, you... Wow."

"My sentiments exactly."

"Yeah." The utterly dazed reply made Chris smile.

"What do you say that we call it a day, find a movie theater with a nice, mushy movie with no spiders and buy tickets for some nice seats in the back?"

"Ok. Chris?"

"Yes?"

"Can I bring Sherman?"

The End