{"id":402,"date":"2013-07-30T00:00:08","date_gmt":"2013-07-30T04:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=402"},"modified":"2013-07-29T21:01:51","modified_gmt":"2013-07-30T01:01:51","slug":"twenty-seven-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=402","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-Seven (part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Something every good politician and soldier learns is the end-run maneuver\u2014you find a way to get what you want by going about it in the most unexpected ways.<\/h3>\n

— Sarah Farragut, circa 4869 PD<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a017 Decem, 5249 PD<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was just past dawn and someone was pounding on his door.\u00a0 Despite all the oaths he swore when he became a doctor, Ezra was deeply tempted to say to hell with whoever was outside and stay right where he was.<\/p>\n

Alana was stretched out in bed with him, his body cupping hers, his front to her back.\u00a0 She was fast asleep, her breathing soft and rhythmic.\u00a0 Her fever had begun to fade with the judicious application of antibiotics and after Lindsay had coaxed her into taking her pain medication, she\u2019d been much more comfortable, too.\u00a0 Shortly after Brendan and Lindsay had left, Ezra and Alana had crawled into bed together and he wasn\u2019t exactly inclined to move just yet.<\/p>\n

But there was someone at the damned door and they weren\u2019t going away.<\/p>\n

Alana stirred and he winced.\u00a0 He kissed her neck and willed her to keep on sleeping as he eased out from under the covers and yanked on a pair of pants.\u00a0 Stumbling in the early morning dim and rubbing at his eyes, he made his way to the front door and yanked it open with as much ferocity as he could muster at just past six in the morning.<\/p>\n

Grant Channing stood outside his door, one brow climbing slowly higher as he regarded Ezra with a curious, puzzled look.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt took you long enough.\u00a0 Did I wake you from a dead sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Ezra lied.\u00a0 \u201cWhat brings you here this early in the morning, Commander?\u00a0 Everyone okay up at the house?\u201d\u00a0 As his annoyance started to wear away and the last vestiges of sleep dissipated, thoughts of what might<\/i> have brought Grant to his front door at this time of morning flashed through his mind.\u00a0 It could be any number of things, considering the number of people living in Rachel\u2019s cottage these days.<\/p>\n

Something happen to Frederick, maybe?\u00a0 America come down sick?\u00a0 Marshal Windsor or Marshal Rose get into some kind of accident?<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s fine,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI actually came to talk to Alana.\u00a0 Is she here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s asleep,\u201d Ezra said, crossing his arms.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I\u2019m not of any mind to wake her right now.\u00a0 Is something wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant hesitated for a moment, his brows knitting.\u00a0 He stepped back off the porch, staring at the sky, at the clouds that drifted against the gold and blue of the sunrise.\u00a0 \u201cWill you walk with me?\u201d he asked after a few moments of silence.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s this all about?<\/i>\u00a0 Ezra frowned.\u00a0 \u201cLet me put on a shirt and some shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant laughed weakly.\u00a0 \u201cOf course.\u00a0 Go get dressed.\u00a0 I\u2019ll wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra nodded slowly, eyeing the older man for a moment before he stepped back into the house.\u00a0 He headed back into the bedroom, digging out a clean shirt and a pair of shoes and socks.\u00a0 Alana stirred as he sat down to tug the socks on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d she murmured sleepily.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing.\u201d\u00a0 He leaned back and brushed his fingertips along the side of her face with a faint smile.\u00a0 The fever had gone down even more than he\u2019d hoped.\u00a0 \u201cGo back to sleep.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be back in a little while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMm.\u201d\u00a0 She snuggled deeper into the blankets.\u00a0 \u201cYou promise?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 He kissed her temple and finished tugging on his socks.<\/p>\n

Ezra tucked the covers around her as he got up to leave, pausing just a moment longer to brush hair back from her face.\u00a0 He could almost see her smile in the darkness and smiled himself even as his heart gave a painful squeeze.<\/p>\n

I could have lost her.<\/i><\/p>\n

But you didn\u2019t.\u00a0 She\u2019s still here with you, and here she\u2019s going to stay.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cHurry back,\u201d she murmured as he retreated from the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will,\u201d he said softly and shut the door behind him.<\/p>\n

Grant was still waiting outside on the path, still staring at the sky as the sun crept higher.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d Ezra said as he shut the door and stepped off the porch and onto the gravel pathway.\u00a0 \u201cWhat did you need to talk about?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s walk a little way,\u201d Grant said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019ll be easier if we\u2019re walking.\u201d<\/p>\n

What the hell is that supposed to mean?<\/i>\u00a0 All Ezra could do was nod.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d reached the end of the path and turned toward the track that led toward the water before Grant shoved his hands into the pockets of his lightweight jacket and started to talk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate to ask it, but there\u2019s a favor I need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d\u00a0 Ezra asked, brows knitting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need Alana Chase.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Something every good politician and soldier learns is the end-run maneuver\u2014you find a way to get what you want by going about it in the most unexpected ways. — Sarah Farragut, circa 4869 PD \u00a017 Decem, 5249 PD It was … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-two-ashes-to-ashes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p25yjF-6u","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=402"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":403,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402\/revisions\/403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}