Vin handed his report to Ezra and snorted. “That’s it. Damn thing is finished.”

Standish scanned the first page and shook his head slowly, clicking his tongue.

“Wwwwwhat?” His voice was low and dangerous.

Buck glanced up from his work, noted Vin’s expression and silently tried to signal Ezra that whatever he was about to say would be best left unsaid.

“The first sentence in this report is grammatically incorrect.”

“Is it?” Vin snarled, the muscles in his shoulders rippling.

Buck cleared his throat loudly. Josiah glanced up and, noting Tanner’s reaction stated calmly, “Vin, you look a little tired. Perhaps…”

“What’s wrong with the first line?” Vin asked in an excessively even voice.

“Oh shit,” Buck murmured, rising and striding for Chris’ office. Vin rarely lost his temper, but when it happened it was often quick and violent.

Ezra, engrossed in reading the report he had to co-sign, was oblivious to the warning signals. “You seem to be labouring under a misconception.”

“What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

“Mr. Tanner, you have split the infinitive in the first sentence.”

Small veins popped out in the side of Vin’s neck. Nathan rose to his feet and was at the Texan’s side in a second, his hand coming to Vin’s shoulder and squeezing it. Tanner drew his gaze from Ezra and lifted his eyes to the medic.

Nathan flashed the younger man an easy smile, gently rubbing the shoulder under his palm. “Easy,” he whispered.

Vin grunted. He was tired. This report had taken him all day and now that he was finished, the high and mighty English perfectionist was telling him he needed to ‘fix’ something. “Would you like me to tell you what you can do with your split infinitive?” Tanner asked, though the real anger had been defused by Nathan’s presence.

Ezra snorted and glanced across at his companion. “Mr. Tanner. English is a precise language and should be presented correctly.”

“Precise? Hmmm, so if it’s so precise, Ezra, what does the word ‘up’ mean?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Come on. You’re a walking dictionary. In English, what does ‘up’ mean?”

Ezra sighed and following a nod of encouragement from Josiah, decided to humour his friend. It was obvious Vin was in an unusual mood. “Up - meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list.”

“Is that right?” Tanner murmured, his eyes narrowing. Nathan shook his head with amusement. He recognised that look. Vin was cornering his prey. “So when we wake in the morning, why do we wake up?” Tanner challenged his partner.

“Pardon?”

“At a meeting, why does a topic come up? Why do we speak up and why are senators up for election and why was it up to me to write up our damn report?”

“Mr. Tanner…”

Vin plucked the report from Ezra, tossed it on his desk and picked up his keys. “Oh, and if you don’t like my split infinitive, Standish, you can stick it up some place that the sun don’t shine.”

With that, Vin stormed out of the room.

Chris and Buck stepped out of the office. “Was that Vin leaving?” Larabee checked.

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“What happened?” Chris demanded.

“I’m sure I don’t know, but something got up his nose,” Ezra chuckled grabbing his coat. “Relax, Colonel. I will follow this up for you. Mr. Tanner… Wait UP!

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© May 2006 Brigitta B. : This relates only to the creative property in this story. The distinctive way the story unfolds, the specific dialogue and unique situations are mine. I acknowledge that some of the characters and settings belong to DC comics and I thank them sincerely for turning a blind eye so I can borrow them. (g) No infrigement of copyright was intended and no profit has been made from this story... so, please don't sue me. It wouldn't be worth your while.