Love
Author's Note: The picture above is for the Ezra Picture Challenge at Purple Lacey's. Check out her site, it's got GREAT M7 Fan Fiction. Also, I would like to thank her for taking the time to make the picture smaller and sending it to me.
*****
Ezra Standish stood nicely dressed in the living room of Nathan and Raine's
house, at their second wedding anniversary.
Nathan handed everyone a glass of champagne and said, "I'd like to make a toast to my beautiful wife."
Ezra looked into the champagne glass, looked at the champagne, and sighed. He heard Nathan talking about how much he loved Raine and how his life was made complete when he met her. 'When am I going to find a love like that?', Ezra thought to himself as he took a sip of the champagne. He had been taught by Maude to never depend on anyone but himself. To never show emotions, emotions were for the weak. Now that teaching was coming back to haunt him. He had never given his heart away, had never found love. He smiled and clapped at the end of Nathan's toast, hiding what he was truly feeling.
Two hours later all the guests had left, leaving just Ezra, Nathan, Raine, JD, Buck, Josiah, Vin and Chris.
"Well, we'd better be getting gone. So, ya'all can get down to buisness," Buck Wilmington said as he wiggled his eyebrows at Nathan and Raine. Nathan just shook his head as Raine blushed.
Nathan's six teammates walked outside and headed to their cars.
"I will bid you gentlemen goodnight and will see you tomorrow at our place of employment," Ezra said as he opened the door to his Jag.
"Ez, are you okay?" asked the team's sharpshooter, Vin Tanner.
Ezra nodded, "I assure you I am fine, Mister Tanner." Ezra gave his two-fingered salute, got into his Jag, and drove away.
Some time later Ezra walked into his quiet condo and sat down on his sofa. He looked around at the boxes that were still unpacked and noticed, not for the first time, that the place didn't have a "homey" feel. He walked over to the window and looked out at the night sky before he closed his eyes. While his eyes remained closed, Ezra silently made a wish. 'I wish I could find someone to make me happy and whom I could make happy. Someone to love. I wish I could find what Nathan and Raine have.' With that Ezra decided to try and get a few hours of sleep before he had to report to work.
*****
Two weeks later, Ezra was with his teammates at Inez's Saloon. Ezra was only
half-listening as his Vin and JD Dunne goaded Buck after he was turned down,
again, after asking Inez out on a date. Buck's voice brought Ezra out of his
thoughts.
"Look a that fine speciman of a lady."
Ezra looked where the others were looking and saw a young woman who appeared to be in her twenties and of Chinese descent. The woman looked over and locked eyes with Ezra. As soon as they locked eyes, Ezra felt like he had known the woman forever. It scared him, he had never felt that before.
Chris Larabee cleared his throat, "Why don't you go over there, Ezra?" At Ezra's raised eyebrow, Chris said, "It's obvious that you want to. Go talk to her."
"I'm sure I have no idea what you are referring to, Mister Larabee."
"You'd better make your move now, Brother Ezra. Who knows if you'll see her again," said Josiah Sanchez.
Ezra didn't say anything as he stood up. He just covered his nervousness behind his perfectly constructed "poker face." He walked up to the woman and said, "How do you do, ma'am?"
The woman gave a shy smile and said, "Hello. Would you, um, like to have a seat?"
Ezra sat down and said, "Thank you, Missus...."
"Pong. My name is Li Pong."
"Ezra Standish."
After an hour and a half, Li Pong and Ezra were still talking. He was so intent on Li Pong that he didn't notice the amused glances his teammates threw his way as they walked out the door, getting ready to head home. 'Now or never,' he silently thought. "Would you like to accompany me to dinner tomorrow night, Missus Pong."
Li gave a smile and said, "I was wondering if you were going to ask, Mister Standish." Ezra smiled and offered to walk Li to her car. They set up a time for Ezra to pick her up the following night and then headed their separate ways.
*****
The next morning at work, Ezra faced teasing from his co-workers.
"Found the one have ya?" asked a smiling Nathan Jackson.
"I just made her acquaintance last night."
"Yeah, but ya'all were actin' like you were the only ones there," said a grinning Vin.
Ezra decided to just remain quiet and went into his cubicle and sat down at his desk. He couldn't ever remember being as excited as he was to go out on a date. He just hoped that she liked the restaurant that he picked out. That night at eight, Ezra rang Li Pong's doorbell and waited for her to answer. When the door opened, Ezra was greeted with the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Li had on a simple but elegant black dress and black pumps, very little make-up and her hair was piled up with a tendril hanging down on each side of her face.
"You look beautiful."
Li slightly blushed and smiled, "Thank you. You look handsome, yourself."
Ezra couldn't help the joy he felt at those words and asked, "Are you ready?"
Li nodded and walked with him to the car, waiting as he opened the passenger door for her.
Twenty minutes later Ezra pulled the Jag into the parking lot of Morton's of Chicago. Li didn't know what to say; she had never been at this restaurant. She just knew that they specialized in steak. She knew that they were expensive and turned to look at Ezra. "Ezra, you didn't have to bring me here. I know this place is very expensive."
Ezra smiled, "Don't worry about it. I wanted to bring you somewhere nice
for our first date and if you don't like it, we won't come here again."
They were seated at a table and handed menus to look over. A few minutes later
they both ordered steaks, well done, with baked potatoes and they each ordered a
glass of red wine.
"How was school today?" Ezra asked while they were waiting for their food. He had found out the night before that Li was twenty-two and attended the University of Denver studying to get her degree in political science and then she wanted to go to law school and become a prosecutor. He had been very impressed with her goals and told her so.
"It was pretty good. We had a pop quiz in history today but I got a ninety-five percent."
"That's great."
"What about you? How was work?"
He smiled and said, "Work." They chuckled and he continued, "It was pretty good. Really nothing exciting happened today."
Just then their steaks arrived and they began eating and talking.
A couple of hours later, they were parked in front of Li's door and were saying good-night.
"So, would you like to come with me to a barbecue Sunday?"
"I'd like that." With a smile, Li leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good-night, Ezra." And, with that said, she disappeared inside.
On his way back to his car, Ezra felt like he was on cloud nine. It was
only a kiss on the cheek but he felt it to his toes. He had never believed in
love at first sight or happily ever after but his thoughts were rapidly
changing. He could imagine a future with Li Pong. 'Slow down, Ezra,' he
chastized himself silently. But no matter how many times his mind told him to be
careful, his heart told him to go for it. This was love at first sight.
*****
Four months had passed and Li and Ezra were going strong. Everyone that knew Ezra, knew that he'd never been happy. He had finally given his heart to someone.
Ezra went to Li's place where they were going to just relax and watch a movie. He walked up to the door, his hand clutching the small box in his pocket, and bit his bottom lip as he rang the doorbell. Li answered with a smile and gave him a kiss after she had ushered him in. He followed her to the kitchen and watched her while she took the cornbread out of the oven and cut it into pieces. He couldn't believe how much he loved her. She was so down to earth, would rather sit at home and watch a movie thn have to go out. Would rather eat at McDonald's instead of a fancy high priced place. He never thought he could love someone as much as he loved Li and he definitely didn't think he would ever find anyone to love him. But standing at the stove was proof that you should never say never.
They ate their meal and walked into the living room. Li sat down on the couch, patting the spot beside her. Ezra stopped in front of her, bent to one knee and pulled a small blue box from his pocket, opening it. He saw the surprise on her face and started to speak, "I love you. Li Pong, you have opened my eyes to something I never thought I'd have....Love. Will you make me the happiest man to ever live and agree to be my wife?"
All was silent for a moment and then Li launched herself at Ezra, chanting, "Yes! Yes!" Ezra laughed and hugged her tight before gently pushing her to sit back down. He took the one-carat diamond ring out of the box and gently placed the ring on her ring finger of her left hand.
"I love you, Ezra Standish." Li said before she kissed him.
"I love you too. More than I thought possible."
The next morning at work, Ezra told his teammates that he was engaged. They all congratulated him and gave him slaps on the back.
As the weeks passed, Ezra realized that he didn't know that there was so much to planning a wedding. It was exhausting.
Finally the day of the wedding arrived and Ezra was standing in his dressing room with Nathan, Josiah, JD, Vin, Buck and Chris. He was pacing and Buck laughed, "Calm down. You're gonna wear a hole in the floor, Pard."
Ezra admitted he was right and stopped, taking a deep breath.
"Okay, Brother Standish. It's time," said a smiling Josiah.
Ezra walked to stand in front of the preacher, with the other six men as his best men. He couldn't choose just one. The wedding march started and he turned, along with everyone else, to watch as the love of his life walked down the aisle with her father. He took in her white silk wedding dress and veil and knew he couldn't wait to get her out of those clothes. He could see her covertly looking him up and down with her eyes. looking at his black tuxedo, and knew that she was thinking the same thing.
Twenty minutes later, the preacher said, "I know pronounce you man and wife." He looked at Ezra, "You may kiss the bride."
Ezra lifted Li's veil and tenderly kissed her, sealing their promise to be together forever.
They went to Chris' ranch for the reception. Everyone were mingling and
congratulating the bride and groom. There was even a disc jokey there to play
the music and his voice came on over the microphone, "It's time for the couple's
first dance as man and wife." The song "When You Say Nothing" came on as
Ezra led Li on to the makeshift dance floor. When they started dancing, everyone
else disappeared.
It’s amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word you can light up the dark
Try as I may I could never explain
What I hear when you don’t say a thing The smile on your face lets me know that
you need me
There’s a truth in your eyes sayin’ you’ll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all
Ezra smiled at Li as they looked into each others eyes and leaned in until their
lips were touching.
All day long I can hear people talking out loud
But when you hold me near, you drown out the crowd
Old Mr. Webster could never define
What’s being said between your heart and mine The smile on your face lets me
know that you need me
There’s a truth in your eyes sayin’ you’ll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There’s a truth in your eyes sayin’ you’ll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all
Ezra thought about how true the verses to the song were. Whenever Ezra looked at
Li, it was almost as if everything seemed to cease to exist except for them. Li
had confided to him that it was the same for her. He knew that she needed him
and he needed her. More than anything.
The next day, Ezra and Li were on their honeymoon in Jamaica. They walked
down to the sandy beach and sat down. Ezra had on his swim trunks and had just
unbuttoned his shirt when he felt himself falling backwards. He looked up at Li
in surprise and saw the twinkle in her eyes. He remembered making a wish to have
what Nathan and Raine did, and as he laughed and looked up at the sun-filled
sky, he knew that his wish had come true. And, it was better than what Nathan
and Raine had because it was his. He continued to laugh as Li tackled him and
they started kissing.
*Lyrics are from "Nothing At All" sung by Alison Krauss. No copyright
infringement intended*
(The name of the restaurant in this story, I got off of the internet. If it does
not still exist, I'm sorry.)