For the next few hours things were very busy. Sydney and Tony only saw brief glimpses of each other across the bustling kitchen. Sydney loved to watch his lover working, barking orders out as he and Damalis ran the kitchen together. Each order going out quickly. Always with a little something extra added depending on the chef.

Tony always added a tomato rosette to the garnish while Damalis added a strawberry fan. It was one way the waiters knew which chef created which dish.

Sydney paused to watch Tony tossing shrimp and scallops in the air as he grabbed a bit of some herb with the other hand. A pause for the pan to get some heat, the herbs added, then toss again to mix. Another pause, white wine, toss, pause.  Some cream was drizzled in, more tossing, let it cook, fix the plate. Suddenly a sharp pain in his already sore rump made Sydney yelp. He turned only to find Paul winding up the dish towel for another shot. Sydney fended him off.

"Back to work lover boy. Lust after him on your own time." Paul growled.

Sydney laughed and went back to work.

A short time later Sydney was out on the dining room floor, clearing off a table.

Usually he didn't come out of the kitchen but tonight they were short staffed and busy. He placed everything on the tray with practiced ease, then lifted it high so that the other diners were not disgusted by the sight of the mess. He moved back towards the kitchen, blushing at a few of the pointed stares at the rippling muscles in the shirt. Sydney knew he was an attractive looking man, but he was not interested in anyone but Tony.

As he turned to step past a table, a portly man chose that exact moment to shove back his chair right into Sydney's path. Sydney was not able to avoid the chair and the four of them, the portly man, Sydney, the chair and the tray all when down in a heap.

"STUPID CLUMSY OAF!! The portly man shouted from the floor.

"Sir, are You hurt? I am sorry." Sydney began at the same time. He tried to pick the portly man up off the floor, at the same time trying to clean him off.

Mario was over to the pair immediately. He helped the man up adding his apologies to Sydney's. Mario called a waiter for assistance as Sydney red-faced cleaned up the mess on the floor. A minute later Tony came out of the kitchen looking powerful and in control having heard the commotion.

The portly man was still berating Sydney in spite of Mario's best efforts to calm him down.

"Stupid OX!, look at my suit RUINED I tell You, Do you know how much this cost? Its totally ruined! RUINED!!"

"Sir, if you will please calm down we can pay for the cleaning." Mario soothed. "Saul, bring a bottle of the wine, the house best." Tony paused by the kitchen door and watched, Mario was good.

"I am sorry Sir, I didn't see you I will pay for the cleaning." Sydney repeated, still very upset as he picked up the broken dishes.

It was at that moment all hell broke loose.

The large portly man had been taking off his coat, Mario assisting him, then next moment the hand rocketed forward, the meaty palm connected with Sydney's face with a resounding CRACK!. Sydney fell back, his hand landed into the broken dishes.

Mario grabbed for the portly man as Tony sailed across the room. Before anyone could even blink, Tony had the portly man pressed up against the wall by his throat, his feet dangling off the floor by several inches. Tony's face was inches from the portly man's ear. "Touch him again and they won’t find enough of you to bury in a match box." Tony growled too soft for anyone else to hear.

"Tony, Sydney's hurt." Mario's voice came though the rage.

Tony dropped the portly man as if he were something very nasty. Which he was. "Get him out of here. Give him the money for his suit and toss him out on the street." Tony said as he moved to Sydney. "Get someone to clean up this mess and that one." Tony nodded to the puddle under the now gasping portly man. Some people have no bladder control.

Sydney had his hand cradled in his arms as the blood dripped down on the floor. The waiters formed a barrier to block the view from the other diners. Tony lifted Sydney into his arms, as if he were a child, and carried him to the back room.

Mario gave a few orders and in the next 10 minutes the messes were cleaned up, the room straightened and the diners were enjoying a glass of wine on the house, the incident all but forgotten.

In the back room, Sydney held his injured hand to his chest, protectively. "Let me see it baby," Tony coaxed, as he tried to pull the arm down and keep his teary eyed lover calm.

"I didn't mean to spill on him Tony." Sydney wailed. "I didn't see him and the tray was heavy and"

"I know baby, I know. Let me see your hand." Tony tried to move the hand again.

"NO!!" Sydney screeched, nearly hysterical. "It will hurt! You're not a doctor!"

"I am" A voice behind Tony said, then a large hand patted Tony's shoulder as the voice ordered. "Hold your kitten Tony."

Tony flashed a smile at the green eyed half-breed as he moved around Sydney and gathered him in his arms.

"What are you doing here, Ohanko?" Sydney asked not giving up his hand yet.

"Sydney!" Tony admonished.

Sydney blushed, and looks up into the green eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

I know kitten. The spirits spoke to me and told me you were in need." The green eyes crinkled as Ohanko grinned. "And Jason said you were having a bad day, so we came to have a late supper with you and Tony. AND to invite you to come camping with us. That is if I can check out your hand before it falls off from gangrene."

"Real camping or that weekend warrior crap you all do?" Sydney asked as he offered out his hand, then he yelped. At the pinch from Tony

"Watch your mouth little boy." Tony admonished.

Ohanko eased Sydney's hand out from where it snapped back to his body as they spoke. "A little of both. Some late fishing up at the lake and a hike to get there."

Sydney nodded as he watched Ohanko work.

"The glass has to come up Kitten." Ohanko said nodding to the two pieces of glass in Sydney's hand just below his pinkie.

"Will it hurt?" Sydney asked a bit frightened.

"A little." Ohanko said honestly. "But not as much as if I leave them in and you grab your willy to pee."

That got Sydney to laugh and even Tony winced. "Okay, You can take it out." Sydney consented finally.

"Too late, already done kitten."  Ohanko said as he cleaned the hand. "You snooze, You lose."

"I didn't feel anything." Sydney stated amazed.

"The power of the Great Spirit." Ohanko said ominously.

"Great Spirit my Aunt Fanny, you distracted him." Jason said as he came in the room behind Ohanko.

"You hush before I distract You Cub." Ohanko said with an affectionate smile to his partner.

Jason handed Tony an ice pack, and gestured to the spot on Sydney's face where the hand print gleamed. Tony accepted it and rested it gently on Sydney's cheek.

"This needs a couple of stitches to hold it closed, its not deep or large but its in a bad spot for healing." Ohanko said, taking some things out of his bag. "The shot is going to burn going in then you wont feel a thing. "

Sydney nodded and turned his face into Tony's shoulder. He flinched as the needle penetrated his skin.

Ohanko Tadi "Restless Wind" Kentwood, the black-haired green-eyed son of a Sioux medicine woman and a Boston physician quickly cleaned Sydney's hand.

"Can we go camping Tony please?" Sydney asked even though he knew this was the busy time at the restaurant.

"Sure we can baby." Tony agreed. "It will do us good to get away. Thanks Wapiya" using the Sioux name for healer as the last was directed at Ohanko who nodded as he worked on Sydney's hand. He sewed up the cut with tight stitches and then bandaged it .

"I'm going to give you something for the pain and an antibiotic injection to help prevent infection." No sooner had Ohanko said those words when all hell broke loose.

The unmistakable sound of gunfire filled the room coupled with screaming. Tony flipped Sydney behind a crate at the same instant Ohanko tossed Jason there. The two young men collided. "STAY!" was the terse command as the older men pulled weapons that before had been concealed. They slipped out of the room locking the door behind them. Sydney and Jason clung to each other in the darkness and waited.

The restaurant had closed while the men took care of Sydney's hand, and the last of the diners hand been about to leave. But now gunfire filled the quiet. Bottles, lights and glassware exploded as the bullets riddled the room.

Tony and Ohanko joined Paul, Damalis and Mario where they crouched in the dining room.

"Madison and Quincy are on the way" Damalis said thanking the fates again that his foster son Iggy was at home on punishment.

"Report!" Tony snapped

"As near as I can tell we have six hostiles." Damalis spoke, "Three front and three back. But I haven't been able to see for sure."

"Four civilians. One causality. Female. Just a flesh wound. She'll live." Paul added.

"Police alerted and on their way." Mario chimed in.

A sudden volley of bullets pinned them down. The men covered the diners with their bodies to keep them safe, and weathered the gunfire. Then it stopped as suddenly as it started. Tony peered up over the upturned table, cautiously.

The street was empty.

"What the hell?" He said then a strangled cry reached his ears and chilled his blood.

"Tony!"

"SYDNEY!!" Tony yelled as he vaulted the overturned table, and raced for the back room.

The room was empty, the door stood opened. Tony cursed his carelessness leaving the boys alone even as he raced to the back door.

The alley was also empty, but at the far end a silver van turned the corner out of the alley. The black skid marks told of the fast get away. On the ground was a small black wallet.

Tony picked up the wallet as his guts turned over, "Shit." Tony said, his heart in his throat. It was Sydney's insulin kit.
 
 

to be continued in part 5