AN: Another crappy H&A fic. This one is probably best read as a follow on from my other Colby/Dean fic 'Boy in Blue'.

He'd caught Dean red-handed and there were witnesses. He only had one option.

"Dean Thompson, you're under arrest..."

Bundling Dean into a police car was the last thing Senior Constable Colby Thorne wanted to do.

xxx

Colby closed the steel door behind Dean, who turned and looked at him through the bars with those big, green eyes. He looked worried. As he should. This was exactly what Colby had feared would be in Dean's future and he had never been more thankful he'd made the choices he had. He was in the best possible position he could be to help Dean now.

He turned his gaze down to the lock and meant to keep it there, but when Dean reached out to touch the bars and let his fingers brush over Colby's, he had to look up again. He didn't want anyone else to see his connection with Dean, but he also wanted Dean to know he was here for him. That he would sort this out.

He glanced down the corridor, checking that they were alone.

"It won't be for long," he promised, resting his head against the bars for a moment. From the camera behind him it would just look like he was having trouble with the lock. Dean leaned in too.

"I trust you." Coming from Dean that meant a lot considering their history.

Colby allowed himself one breath to bask in Dean's close proximity, then he straightened up and forced himself to get back in the game. He needed to focus and be smart about this, to play his part and do whatever it took to get Dean out.

xxx

"What was that?" The question came from Constable Murray.

"What?" Colby said distractedly, all his focus trained on getting Dean out of this mess.

"You and Thompson."

That made him stop and listen. What could Murray possibly know? They'd been so careful. And hadn't he just gone ahead and arrested Dean for everyone to see?

He looked up at the bearded officer who was looking back at him critically.

"I arrested him for theft."

"I'm not talking about that," Murray insisted. "I mean just now. In the cells. What's your connection to him?"

Fuck. How much had he seen? What lie could he tell to evade this?

His hesitation spoke for him.

"Jesus Christ..." Murray said. "He's an active gang member."

Crap he needed to put a lid on this quick smart. Keeping their secret was his immediate priority now. Without it, he wouldn't be able to help Dean.

"It's not what you think."

He knew something about Murray too, but he didn't wanna drop the bloke right in it. Not until he knew if the situation could be handled more reasonably. He lowered his voice to just above a whisper.

"I saw a certain someone leaving your place very early in the morning. And don't even try to tell me your just friends."

Murray's stunned expression told him that the other cop knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Let's go grab lunch," Colby suggested. "See if we can figure something out."

xxx

Once they had their burgers and were out of earshot of anyone else, Colby began. They ate while they spoke, because there was nothing weird about cops standing around eating fast food. No one was gonna look twice.

"Look this doesn't have to get nasty. I'd much rather us to be mates." He didn't want there to be friction between them, but he also wanted Murray to know how serious he was. "How old is she? Fourteen?"

The other cop almost choked on his cheeseburger.

"Sixteen," he spluttered, before clearing his throat and amending his statement by adding; "Soon...".

So Colby was right, she was underage. He didn't like doing this to a colleague but he had Murray where he needed him now. And Murray knew that.

"What do you want?"

"That's simple. You keep my secret, I'll keep yours."

"Fine. And what about Thompson's current predicament?"

"What you have to understand about Dean and I, is that this isn't a casual thing."

"Wait," the other cop said, eyes growing wide in disbelief. "Are you saying you're in love with him?"

"Yes, and I have been for a long time. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will change that."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

Murray wiped his mouth and hands, scrunched up his napkin and tossed it in the bin before turning back to Colby with a resolute look.

"Right. So what do we do?"

xxx

He didn't know if he could trust Murray, but he wanted to. He hoped it was because he'd opened up about his relationship with Dean, and not because he'd used a little blackmail, that Murray had agreed to this idea. Keeping the secret was one thing, but actively helping him get Dean out of trouble was another. His insurance policy was the fact that Murray was actually breaking the law, Colby at least was only being unethical.

They pulled up at the construction site to meet Dean's boss with a boot full of stolen tools. He hadn't actually checked them in as evidence yet and was hoping that simply giving them back would be enough to resolve the matter.

"Are these your tools?" Colby questioned.

The guy looked them over and agreed that they were.

"Are they all there?" he checked.

"Yes."

"Mr Thompson was under the impression that you were happy for him to borrow them."

That was a lie and Dean's boss knew it.

"That's a load of bull."

But Colby really needed this man to let the issue go.

"Seems like there's a lot of new houses being built in this area," Murray stepped in. "Now that you've got these back you don't really want to spend a whole day at the station dealing with paperwork, do you?"

Thankfully, the guy took the hint and backed down.

"Not really. No."

"They're yours to take then," Murray offered.

The bloke accepted, calling to his crew to unload the gear, but he wasn't exactly happy about it. As cops, being on the receiving end of attitude was nothing they weren't used to. It felt a little different though when the disdain was justified. Colby didn't like the feeling.

"Tell Thompson I haven't got any more work for him."

Colby nodded, and they took their leave.

Back in the car he let out a sigh of relief and turned to Murray.

"Thanks."

"Just make sure your boy stays out of trouble from now on."

"Yeah," he agreed. "We'll be having a serious discussion very soon."

xxx

It wasn't too hard to keep the smile off his face. While he was obviously glad that Dean wasn't being charged, he didn't like the position Dean's actions had put him in. He'd done things today that made him the kind of person he didn't want to be.

"Well Mr Thompson," Colby said in a formal tone as he unlocked the cell. "Seems it was all a misunderstanding. You're free to go."

"About time," Dean declared loudly, but it was just for show. When Dean looked up at him it was like he'd hung the moon. It had been a long time since Dean had looked up to him like that. It made some of Colby's anger melt away.

"Go home," he whispered. "I'll be done here in an hour or two."

Dean gave him a subtle smile.

"Don't make a habit of being misunderstood," Colby added sternly. While his words worked for the performance, his statement just wasn't for show. He meant it. He didn't ever want to be in this position again.

xxx

When Colby got home he was prepared to have that discussion with Dean. Tell him exactly how stupid he'd been, but as soon as he walked though the door, Dean was on him, holding on tight.

"Thank you."

Colby breathed a sigh of relief after the tension of the day, and returned Dean's embrace.

"I hated seeing you in there."

"I didn't like it any better."

That was his opening, that was when he should have told Dean to stay out of trouble. But they had been apart for so long he didn't want to get into a fight, he just wanted Dean close now that they'd found each other again.

Momentarily, Dean seemed to realise he was pressed against a police uniform.

"Get this off," he commanded, quickly undoing the buttons of Colby's blue shirt. Undoing it revealed his tattoo, which Dean ran his fingers over and pressed his lips against.

"There you are..." he sighed, breath hot against Colby's skin.

"Hey," Colby said, getting Dean to look up and focus on him. "It was the cop, not the River Boy, that saved your skin today." He didn't want Dean to forget that.

"Yeah, but the cop wouldn't have given a toss about me. It was the River Boy that made you want to."

"No, that was all down to the man that loves you."

Most of the time Dean acted all tough, but Colby knew that underneath all that was a lost kid looking for someone to take care of him. He'd always been like that. It was a combination of confidence and vulnerability that he couldn't get enough of.

"I'm so glad I've got you back, Col."

"Me too."

He let Dean push his shirt off as they shared a kiss.

"We taking this to bed?" Dean smirked.

"What do you think?"Colby threw back. It wasn't even a question.

Dean gave him a grin, grabbed his hand and pulled him into the bedroom.

They tossed off their clothes and then Dean was shoving him back, kissing down his chest and his belly, working his way downwards until he reached Colby's cock. Then he was sucking, fast and sloppy. It wasn't a blow job, it was prep.

"Sit up," Dean said. Colby moved back propping himself up and then Dean was climbing into his lap, back against Colby's chest, twisting his head so their mouths could meet.

"I want you inside me," Dean breathed, grinding against him.

"Yes," Colby agreed, reaching down to prepare Dean. He couldn't think of anything he'd ever wanted more.

"Already done," Dean grinned against his mouth. Oh fuck, statements like that would make him come before they even got started.

Dean lifted himself up and Colby helped guide him down, breathing through the exquisite sensation of Dean taking him in.

"God, I love you so much," Dean declared.

Colby had never experienced anything like it. He'd never fucked anyone he loved before. Sharing this with Dean was something be never wanted to give up.

Dean curled up next to him when they were done and Colby wrapped an arm around him to keep him close.

"So how'd you manage it?" Dean wondered, fingers idly tracing the lines of Colby's tattoo.

"Never you mind. All you need to know is it's a trick that won't work again. So stay out of trouble."

"Well that's no fun."

"Don't push it, Dean. Being a cop doesn't mean I can magically solve all your problems for you."

"But it turns out Mad Pig Disease does have some positive side effects though..."

He stretched up and pressed a kiss to Colby's lips. If he thought that kisses would let him get away with all his criminal activities... Well, he might just be right.

"You're lucky I love you exactly the way you are."

"And how's that?"

"Childish, spoilt, unemployed..." Colby listed.

"Unemployed?" Dean frowned. "I have a job."

"Yeah about that," Colby said, "maybe you better start looking for a new one."

AN: If anyone is interested in more about Constable Murray's implied romance in this fic, let me know in a review or PM. I'm thinking about writing something for him. Thanks for reading.