Blair opened the door without waiting for a reply, stepping out and barely repressing a grimace as a pain shot through her leg. She may have gotten the cast and brace off now, but PT wasn't done for several more weeks. It felt like the break was fragile, at least to her, and the soreness and random spikes of pain as it healed were firm reminders that she wasn't back to normal yet.

Ezra walked up beside her and noted the tightness around her eyes.

Ezra was a good businessman, and he read people well. He was kicking himself slightly for not realizing how much pain she truly was in, and was about to suggest heading back after all when she linked her arm with his and looked up with a smile.

"Come on," she chuckled, holding the cane in her other hand firmly, "it's been a while and I actually missed this place a bit."

Ezra swallowed his words and simply nodded, keeping a close eye on her as she guided him toward the main entrance.

"Blaise and Tim staying in the car?" Blair asked, glancing back as Ezra opened the door for her.

"Yeah," Ezra chuckled, "Tim always stays with the car. Partially to prevent tampering or theft, but also in case we need a quick exit. He says he loves it - he was a cabbi for years and apparently he just likes being in a car. Blaise may be my assistant, but he's also my best friend - and he's very... talkative. I'd prefer to talk to you rather than hear him chattering."

"Oof, brutal!" Blair cackled, making Ezra smile, "I had a feeling you two were close. Well, it just being the two of us is easier. It's the weekend, so this place is packed and it's harder to navigate as a group."

Ever practical, Blair shuffled through the entry way and around the corner without worrying about the currently moping Blaise muttering quiet profanities in the car at being left behind.

The second they eased into the building, Blair's words proved an accurate prediction. Swarms of people moved in both directions in the wide walkways. Tables and stands were set up side by side along both walls, sometimes with makeshift walls between them.

Ezra's eyebrows rose without conscious thought as his eyes naturally drifted upward to see the signs that hung above each of the vendor's spaces. Each sign was unique and various levels of professional - some were as simple as posterboard where others were vinyl, though the most common were custom wood signs. Later, as they walked, he'd discover a wood sign maker that offered vendors a discount and explained their popularity.

"This... is different," Ezra said, standing to the side as the crowd flowed chaotically.

"Have you ever been to a flea market? Or a garage sale? Or hell, even a local festival or carnival?" Blair asked, not surprised at Ezra's curious gaze sweeping along the stands, "This is a lot like those. This is basically a huge warehouse. The walls aren't well insulated, the roof is tin. When it's empty it's just a concrete floor and one long ass metal hallway. The vendor areas are taped off and they pay for their spot in advance - it's up to them to put up tables, walls, shelves - whatever. The ones that sell here often have entire setups that stay even when they leave, and they pay extra storage fees - they tend to have the larger areas in the middle. The smaller spots on the ends of the halls are for people that set up shop for a short while."

"And... are there rules? Like what they sell or?" Ezra asked, moving into the flow of traffic with Blair and eyeing the stands on their side of the aisle as they passed.

"Yes, actually," Blair confirmed, "So, the farmer's market has an entire section. There are rules on how and where things have to be grown to get a stand there. Crafts have to be homemade and can't be mass-produced. Food prepared outside of the venue has to pass regulations. Things like that. For the most part, this market focuses on small-time businesses, international vendors, and artists."

"This is kind of like market streets I've seen when doing business trips in Asia," Ezra admitted, pausing and stepping up to one of the whiskey vendors.

"That's what tends to be the inspiration for these kinds of places," Blair confirmed with a nod, smiling at the shop owner, "Hey Hank. Do you have anything fancy?"

"Hey Amy! What happened to your leg darlin'? Is this that boyfriend you always talkin' about?" Hank smiled warmly at Blair, a regular of the market that has probably purchased something from every regular vendor at some point.

"This is my new boyfriend," Blair said, scratching her nose awkwardly, "I caught Ryan cheating and dumped his ass. Ezra and I reconnected recently, and he's been helping me since I broke my leg in an accident. Ezra, this is Hank - the legend of whiskey, bourbon, and moonshine gummies!"

Hank busted out laughing, "you and your moonshine gummies! I swear I don't need another customer as long as I have you, my girl!"

Hank's smile faded as he processed her words though, and he looked at her with a furrowed brow, "wait, what do you mean he cheated?! That fucker! I ought to teach that boy a lesson in how to treat a woman!"

Blair's gaze warmed at the old, southern man with an undeniable fondness that had Ezra liking him even without his threat of violence against Ryan - which already left a positive impression.

"He's not worth it," Blair said with a dismissive wave, "Why spend time on trash? I upgraded instead of feeling sorry for myself."

Hank looked at Ezra with a critical eye, his gaze moving up and down as if appraising him.

"Well, this one sure is fancy lookin'," Hank finally said with a grunt, "but you tell me if he turns out to be trash too. I'll get Bruce and Henry. We've bashed a few windshields in our time, and for you we'd do it again!"

"You spoil me," Blair laughed, reaching out and touching Hank's arm gently to calm him, "I'll let you know if I need an ex taught a lesson," then she visibly brightened, her hold on Ezra's arm tightening slightly in excitement, "but! More importantly... do you have any?!"

"You know I always keep two jars waitin' for you, darlin'," Hank laughed, walking toward the back wall and grabbing two mason jars from under the table filled with stock, "These are both just now at 12 months!"

"Perfect!" Blair squealed in delight, "Oh, Hank! You picked out the nasty yellow ones and everything!"

Blair looked from the jars filled with gummy bears in every color but yellow that sat soaking in the alcohol, and smiled warmly at Hank.

"Of course we did," Hank chuckled, setting the two jars on the table for her, "Marcy isn't here today, but ever since learnin' you give the yellows to your friends she makes your jars special."

"She's the dang sweetest," Blair sighed, shaking her head, "We should do dinner soon. I'll make pie!"

Hanks face tightened slightly, and he coughed in such a way that told Ezra that Blair offering to make a pie was probably not the selling point she thought it was.

"We absolutely should," Hank said warmly, fixing his face, "You just bring you, darlin'. Marcy loves cookin' for ya, you're a good eater! She hasn't had a chance to bake treats in a while. You just ring her up and tell her what you want. We'll make it happen. Bring your boyfriend. We'll feed ya both."

"It's a deal," Blair laughed, aware that her last pie was a failure - even she couldn't force a whole slice down, "Ezra, did you want to try anything? Hank has a great bourbon sampler set."

Ezra had been watching the interaction with fascination, and given how close Blair clearly was with Hank decided to humor them.

He didn't think now was the time to explain that the cheapest bottle of whiskey at his place was easily a couple thousand dollars.

"Sure, one sampler kit too, please," Ezra said politely, nodding at Hank.

"Well he's polite, I'll give 'im that," Hank nodded approvingly, "You best treat our girl here right, ya hear? Not a vendor here that doesn't love her. She's got an army behind her, this girl does."

Ezra smiled, eyeing Blair with amusement at the fact that - if she wanted it, they likely would have rioted against Ryan the second she raised the alarm.

He could see it in her gaze, though, that she never would. She clearly cared for these people, and she'd never let them get into trouble on her behalf.

"You have my word," Ezra said seriously, nodding at Hank and earning a sharp nod of approval.

"Well, that was unexpected," Ezra finally said as they walked away, carrying the two bags of newspaper-wrapped glass.

"I come here a lot," Blair admitted with a smile, "and I've worked for some of the vendors here when I needed some extra cash. Hank and Marcy are real sweeties, both retired and with fixed incomes. I worked for them for a summer when Marcy broke her arm a few years ago - she's got weak bones. Jackie at the chocolate shop needed help the year after - you may remember her, we arranged for her as one of the caterers at the collaboration event with the university. Her bonbons were a huge hit."

Blair kept rattling on and on, introducing Ezra as they walked by booths to people, their wares, and talking about others down the way.

"Bruce is a genius with blades - he sharpens dull ones if you bring them to him, and he sells crazy kitchen knives and throwing knives styled from all over the world. Henry is the toy-maker in the corner booth down there. He carves all his toys himself, and they're all really special. He started whittling when his first grandbaby was born, but the kids didn't really like the wooden toys too much. He ended up loving whittling and had no one to make toys for, so now he sells them here!"

He was blown away by how different she was here - laughing freely, joking with everyone like she'd never met a stranger, and earning shouts of hello and excitement from everyone that recognized her.

Compared to the calm professional that had stood in the conference room and presented on the new product launch, this version of Blair felt like a completely different person.

It reminded him of their chess games, and Ezra couldn't help but smirk to himself as she led the way toward the center of the building where the food court apparently was.

When he discovered she was the Ward heiress, he knew this arrangement would be beneficial if he could play his cards right... but he really didn't expect to enjoy her company as much as he was. He figured they'd be cordial enough and have the ability to talk business as a means to fill the awkward gap, but Blair wasn't nearly as stifling as he'd predicted.

He was pleasantly surprised to have slightly miscalculated.

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