Title: The Truth Will Set You FreeAuthor: missfaeFandom: Simon and Simon

Pairing: Rick/A.J.; A.J. /omc

Warnings: incest, rape…be glad it isn't mpreg… maybe that will come later if I feel the desire to write another one…. A little underage action… AU some information from canon is incorporated but this story is basically AU and I played around with time lines….so no flames please…

Summary: A.J. is missing and is the price for his return too high for Rick to pay?Disclaimer: These characters are the property of a whole bunch of people and none of them are me. (Well, except for the original characters, they are all mine). But one person who had a hand in their creation is executive producer John G. Stephens. You know I don't own or know any of these people. Purely my imagination based upon the 80's show. Ah… some of my fondest childhood memories and you know it was just screaming to be slashed.

Part One

He was dreaming of his high school days when all he did was surf. Then, he was carefree laughing and having fun in the sun with his friends. He would laugh all the time but that laughter would soon end when they took away his big brother. Oh… his brother would say that he volunteered, that it was his duty to God and his country. But AJ knew, he knew that his brother really had no other choice. He was not going to run away because he never ran away from a fight; nevertheless, he really didn't want to go.

AJ dreams about the last night before his brother was to go to boot camp.

Spring 1968

"Rick, "Whined 16 year old AJ, "I don't want you to go."

Twenty-one year old Rick sighed and rolled his eyes, "Now AJ we talked about this. You know I have to go. Don't you want me to protect our way of live from the enemy?"

"But who is the enemy?" His brother retorted, "Jack says that we don't even know who were fighting."

Jack was AJ's best friend and all around smart ass.

"He says," AJ continued, "The America is the real enemy and has no business sticking its nose where it don't belong. That's why his brother is going to Canada."

"Well…" Ricks replied as if pondering life's great mysteries, "If America was the real enemy; I could stay here and fight. And if all the young men ran away to Canada, who would we have left to defend the country?"

He pulled his brother close,

"But I don't think that's what really has you upset is it."

AJ said nothing he simply buried his head in the crook of Rick's shoulder and clutched him closer.

"AJ come on… talk to me. You know you can tell me anything you want."

AJ was silent for a long time and finally when Rick didn't think he would answer AJ whispered fiercely,

"If you go you're gonna die."

"AJ…" Rick started to say but AJ cut him off,

"It's gonna be worse than when you left me for that biker gang. I kept having dreams that you crashed and then Mom would open the door to see a police man standing there telling us that you had died."

AJ begins to shake and Rick feels hot tears against his shoulder.

"Now you're gonna leave me again."

"AJ…" Rick says gently smoothing the trembling boy's hair, "I don't know the future. Yes it is a bad war and I am scared. Hell… I wish I didn't have to go but I'm gonna do my duty."

"But you'll never come back to me!" AJ wails his sobs getting louder.

"AJ, I can't promise you that I won't die… It's possible that I will but it's also possible that I'm gonna make it back home but I can promise you one thing. If is in my power, I will come back to you. And when I come back I will be alive and well."

"Rick…"

"Shhh… that's all I can promise. I love you little brother."

And AJ knew that should have been sufficient but it could never be enough. This might be the last time that he would ever see his brother again, the last chance that he could show him how he really felt about him, so he did what he wanted to do for a long time.

He felt his brother snuggling down into the bed and pulling him closer so he waited until Rick was lying on his back. Then propping himself up on his elbow, he looked down into the bright blue eyes.

"Rick, "he said, "I love you."

"I love you too you nut." Rick replied.

AJ shook his head, "No! I. Love. You." And with those words he bent down and pressed his lips to his brother.

Grabbing AJ by the shoulders, Rick pushed him roughly back.

"AJ, what the hell are you doing?"

"Please Rick. I need you." AJ leaned back in and kissed Rick again, this time Rick didn't push him back. Instead he groaned and pulling his brother closer, kissed him deeply, demandingly. When he let him go he pleaded,

"AJ, you don't know what you're doing. We need to stop before we go too far."

AJ was crushed, "Don't you want me?"

"Yes, I do." Rick confessed, "More than you'll ever know but I can't. I'm your brother. It isn't right, I have to protect you."

"And isn't part of protecting me, loving me?" AJ asked his eyes filling with tears. "Please Rick. I may never see you again… I need this." He begged as the tears began to flow again.

Rick never could stand to see his brother cry and this time was no exception. Laying his brother back onto the bed, Rick covered the slender body with his own and began kissing AJ's forehead, then each cheek, then his eyelids, then his lips. Working his way down, he nibbled at AJ's chin and then his throat being very careful to leave no marks. Unbuttoning AJ's top, Rick bent over and taking a pink nipple between his teeth pulled gently and felt the boy arch under him a gasp of pleasure escaping his lips. Ever mindful of their mother sleeping down the hall Rick sucked the nipple until it was a hard nub then moved his ministrations to the other. By the time he was finished, AJ was writhing in ecstasy.

"Please Rick." He moaned and Rick smiled as he put his hand into AJ's bottoms and palmed his semi erect penis. Anticipating the boy's cry of pleasure, Rick's other hand was covering AJ's mouth silencing his moans.

"You like this baby?" He purred his voice husky.

AJ could only gasp head flinging from side to side.

"You like this even better." Rick declared as he pulled out AJ's now fully erect member deep throating him.

"Good thing I have his mouth covered." Rick thought sure that AJ scream would have brought their mother running.

AJ continued to buck and writhe as Rick worked on his cock, sometimes taking him deep and sometimes pulling back so that only the tip remained in his mouth. Soon Rick realized that AJ was trying to speak and he pulled his hand away,

"What is it little brother?

"I gotta cum Rick, please I gotta cum."

"Then come for me baby brother." Rick commanded placing his hand back over AJ's mouth and going down on him again.

And as if that order was what he needed, with a loud but muffled cry AJ came. Rick drank deeply and didn't stop until AJ reached his completion. Then he lovingly licked his brother clean and tucked him back into his PJs. Straightening back up, he pulled AJ close.

"Rick you didn't…" AJ started sleepily but Rick cut him off,

"Don't worry about it little brother… you get some sleep."

"K… love you big brother." AJ mumbled sleepily.

"You too kid." Rick whispered but AJ was already asleep. Rick pulled him even closer and vowed that he would never touch his brother like this again.

When AJ awoke the next morning, his brother had already gone.

He was inconsolable and his mother couldn't figure out why.

The dream shifts and it was two years later when Rick should have been coming home from Vietnam. AJ, his mom and several close friends are waiting in the house to welcome Rick home. For his one act of responsibility, their Uncle Ray has agreed to pick Rick up at the bus station. The house is quiet as everyone is waiting to yell surprised. A key is heard rattling in the lock.

"Okay," Mary says, "Get ready…one, two, three…"

The door opens and everyone jumps up and yells,

"Surprise!"

But the words die in their throats as the guests take in the sight of the somber Ray and the Marine standing behind him in dress whites.

"NO!" AJ yells and besides him his mother faints.

"You bastard, he's not dead! Tell me… he's not dead!" AJ shouts attacking the marine as his uncle tries to restrain him."

"AJ! AJ!" His Uncle Ray is yelling.

"AJ! AJ!" He is fighting against the restraining arms and suddenly he jerks awake and sees that he is in his bedroom. Next he sees a pair of blue eyes looking down at him. AJ begins to sob as Rick takes him into his arms.

Later that day, AJ stumbles down stairs and into the kitchen. Rick has been up for at least two hours and is working on his sixth cup of coffee.

"Feeling better?" He asks.

AJ just grunts.

"I take it that's a no then?" Rick asks amusement evident on his face.

AJ shoots him a dirty look.

Rick sighs, "AJ… it's just a dream. I'm here and alive. Can't you just be happy with that?"

Rick was back despite AJ's fears. Rick came back but he was a changed man. His time in Vietnam left him older than his years and cynical. Sometimes AJ didn't know his own brother and it scared him. Even worse, it made him lonely. The only thing that hadn't changed was their love for each other. But that wasn't entirely true because their love had changed; it was deeper, more passionate and consuming.

Rick had come back from Vietnam and instead of never touching his brother again, he couldn't wait to get him alone and then he used him. He used his body to try to wash away the memories of the war. To try to find some beauty in all the ugliness that he saw there. To try to find some love to erase the hatred of that foreign country. Instead he only found pain and sorrow and he wondered if he would ever be whole again. But little by little, with the love of his mother and brother, Rick began to heal.

Even though Cecelia Simon remained blissfully unaware of the true relationship of her two sons, she knew that they would always be there for each other.

"No Rick, I can't be happy with that. I came too damned close to losing you. And pardon me for never wanting that to happen again."

Rick rises from his chair anger coloring his words. "Then I might as well give up being an investigator."

"What are you talking about?" AJ snaps.

"Every day I'm out there, you come close to losing me. So the only way to assure that I stay safe is to give it up and stayed locked up in the house. That's assuming that I don't die in a fire or home invasion." Rick added sarcastically.

"Fuck you Rick." AJ says and suddenly he can't see for the tears and Rick feels like a heel. Moving to his brother, Rick takes him into his arms. AJ pushing against him feebly offering token resistance but he molds himself to his brother's body.

"I can't lose you Rick. I just can't… it would kill me." He begins to cry.

"Hey you aren't gonna lose me. If I can stand what Vietnam threw at me, I can take what the streets of San Diego throw at me."

AJ sighs, "I just wish I could be sure."

"Well you can be sure of this." Rick says, "I can't promise that one day someone faster or stronger will come along, then it might be my time; but as long as it is within my power, I will not leave you and I will always protect you."

"Promise." AJ whispers looking at him with sadness in his eyes.

"Promise." Rick echoes and leaning down he captures his brother's lips in a soft kiss.

Rick leads him back upstairs and into his bedroom. He undresses AJ with a tenderness borne of caring and when they make love it is slow and gentle. Rick is on top of AJ watching the passion in his face as he slowly thrusts into his brother. AJ pants,

"Like that Rick. Yes, just like that. Love me… Please love me."

Rick bends down and kisses him as he continues to slowly move inside his brother,

"Love you kid… love you so much."

And then AJ is throwing his head back as he cums and his orgasm pulls Rick over the edge and he comes with a soft,

"AJ."

And collapses onto his brother. Pulling him close, Rick wipes them post with the end of the bed sheet and then kisses AJ's sweaty brow.

"Rick…" AJ whispers sleep already beginning to claim him.

"Go to sleep, I'll keep you safe." Rick says as he watches his brother succumb to sleep.

Later, much later, when AJ awakens, Rick is gone.

End Part One.