This is a work of fanfiction, for entertainment purposes only. The characters and concepts of Hardcastle and McCormick do not belong to me, but to their creators.

Author's Notes: Today's choice of inspiration comes to us originally from The Pretenders, though it's the Rod Stewart cover that's been haunting me lately. The concept is pretty simple:

I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you

We see it demonstrated again and again in canon—in both directions—but I've been thinking about Ties My Father Sold Me.

I'll Stand by You

by Cheride

There had been a lot of silence lately.

After the fairly off-hand—though totally heart-felt—offer to take the kid to a ballgame, Hardcastle hadn't really known what to say. He'd tried to distract McCormick with any number of things, ranging from the almost always reliable good meal, to staking him at the craps table, or even a walk along the boardwalk to listen to the waves in the darkness, but the young man had declined it all with barely more than a few grunts and a shake of his head.

Finally McCormick had snapped out of the sullen silence long enough to make a request. "Do you think we could catch a flight out tonight?"

And even in the face of everything, Hardcastle's first instinct had been to say no. Not that he was particularly proud of that fact, but—even after a year— 'no' was almost always his first instinct. Especially, he thought, when it was going to involve a lot of inconvenience and cost, which changing their flight time certainly would.

But before he could open his mouth to explain all the reasons it would make more sense to wait at least until the morning, McCormick had softly added a few more words.

"I really just want to go home."

And that's all it had taken. He thought the kid had never sounded so much like a kid, and it had been more than he could stand. All thoughts of refusal had fled the jurist's mind, and within the hour they'd packed their bags and headed for the airport. But sitting here now, watching as McCormick sat slumped into a chair, silently waiting for the PA system to announce their flight, he found himself wishing he'd stuck to no just once, and that this trip to Jersey had never taken place.

00000

They'd been sitting without speaking for almost an hour. The plane wasn't due for more than another hour—that had been the only flight they'd been able to get on such short notice—but McCormick was determined to just sit at the gate. He still had no interest in a meal, and the judge didn't think passing the time in the bar was probably such a good idea right now. And after a couple of aborted attempts at small talk, it had become apparent that the young man also had no interest in conversation, so Hardcastle had simply let him be.

So he was surprised when Mark finally broke the silence, though it almost sounded as if the softly spoken words were coming out against the man's will.

"I can't believe what I risked to find him," he said bitterly, "what I could've lost."

Hardcastle looked at him speculatively. This conversation could get tricky; best to stick to the obvious—even if the obvious was something they usually avoided. "Well," he said gruffly, "you'd probably have to try a lot harder before you'd end up losing me."

McCormick seemed to give that some thought. "Not as hard as you might think," he finally countered.

Then he lapsed back into silence, and Hardcastle figured he was considering the ramifications of 'mostly legal' activities. Probably just as well. He himself wouldn't have brought it up right now, not with everything that had happened with Sonny, but the judge thought a few moments of quiet reflection on the lawful view of things wouldn't hurt the kid at all.

"Well, I'm sorry," McCormick added after the silence had stretched again.

Hardcastle hiked an eyebrow, but the young man was continuing.

"Sorry I dragged you all the way out here; sorry it turned into such a hassle; sorry if there's even more hassle waiting back home." He twitched a very small grin. "But I'm not talking too much about that unless it happens." He paused again, straightened in his chair, and added, "Unless you'd rather be prepared?"

The judge thought that last bit might've had just a hint of a hopeful quality to it, which was kind of unnerving. Mark McCormick in such a depression that he might actually want to talk about it was unusual enough in its own right. But that he'd rather talk about whatever undoubtedly criminal activity had led him to Sonny Daye than about the man himself was almost terrifying. Still, he shook his head quickly, deciding that what he didn't know couldn't hurt either one of them.

He watched the young man slump back into his chair, the normally lively features losing the small amount of animation they'd held a moment earlier, and he could only hope Mark would understand that his silence was intended to be protection, not some sort of personal indictment. The last thing the kid needed now was someone else making him feel like he was more trouble than he was worth.

"None of it's your fault, you know," Hardcastle finally said. McCormick didn't give any indication he was listening, but the judge kept talking. "Not now, not then. And besides, we've gotten ourselves into plenty of tight spots just because of things that were important to me; maybe it's time to see if we can't even up the score just a little bit."

That seemed to get through, and McCormick quirked a tiny smile. "Hah. I'm not sure even indefinitely is enough time for me to catch up with you in the looking for trouble department. You seem to have a knack for that, Hardcase." The smile slipped. "Though this fiasco probably counts at least double. I mean, you were arrested." He shook his head. "That's probably the worst part."

The judge snapped his mouth closed, biting back whatever he'd been about to say. Even if he'd considered himself good at these types of moments—which he certainly did not—McCormick's latest comment would've surprised him. The kid had crossed the country to find a father who had immediately made it clear that fatherhood wasn't high on his list of achievements, and then—just when Mark had started to believe Sonny was coming around—the guy had disappeared again without much more explanation than the first time.

And, of course, there was no forgetting that in the midst of it all, McCormick had been kidnapped because of the reluctant patriarch. All in all, Hardcastle thought there were a lot of moments from the last couple of days that could've laid claim to being 'the worst part'. His temporary run-in with the local law enforcement didn't even make the list. He didn't intend to itemize the most egregious elements of the visit, but he wouldn't let the kid feel guilty about an inconsequential legal snafu.

"You're worried about that?" he finally asked. "How many times do I have to tell you that the system works like it should? I didn't even make it to booking; the law was on my side from the beginning."

It took a few seconds, but then McCormick seemed intrigued by that. "On your side? How is it that the law is on your side when you're trying to steal federal evidence, but not mine when I'm driving my own car?"

Hardcastle leaned back with a small, satisfied smile. If they were going to argue about this, the kid was going to be okay. "I thought I explained flagrant necessity," he said righteously, "so that even you could understand it."

"And I thought I explained ownership so that even you could understand it. Still didn't do me much good."

"Hah. Maybe I should go back and explain the purpose of registration papers. Not to mention the finer points of insurance fraud."

McCormick flashed a rueful grin. "No, that's okay. I can do without the lecture." His eyes clouded. "Besides, that's not really the explanation I'm looking for right now."

The judge sighed slightly. "I don't think anyone can give you that explanation, kiddo, though I could speculate with the best of 'em. Whatever you need, I'll do what I can."

"I know that, Judge," Mark said sincerely. "I suppose that's why I dragged you out here to begin with." He appeared to consider briefly, then added, "Too bad it took me a few days too long to realize there's nothing here I need." Then the young man perked up just a bit. "But when we get home, can we go see a ballgame?"

Hardcastle smiled at his friend, glad the silence was finally at an end. "I'll even buy you a hot dog."