Disclaimer: I don't own them…lucky them!

"He's the only one I need," Travis said. "I don't need help…I need him!"

Detective Travis Marks woke up in a cold sweat for the third time that week...he had about enough of this recurring dream/nightmare. He was always arguing with someone he couldn't see he was bleeding but he couldn't feel the pain. The person was trying to help…but he wasn't having of it, he needed "him" and only him.

"Why can't I dream about normal things?" Travis said to himself.

Travis got up and walked in the kitchen…everything was where he liked it to be. It wasn't organized by any means…but everything had a home including him. Turning on the sink, he let the water run for a second and filled up a glass. Sitting on the couch…he looked at his phone, there was a text from a few minutes ago.

"Hey…are you up?" the text read.

Travis smiled at the text…he responded like he had for the last three nights.

"You know I am..."

Miles away Detective Wesley Mitchell shook his head at his phone…they had this discussion for the past few nights. Wes knew that sometimes Travis had trouble sleeping…maybe it was the bad neighborhoods he used to live in or maybe it was something else. He thought about all the times that Travis tried to bring up the sleeping issues in their therapy class, Dr. Ryan was good at her job but not even she had a solution.

"Sorry I'm keeping you up…again..." Travis texted

"Don't apologize...I can shoot a gun and chase bad guys with only two hours of sleep." Wes responded.

Travis laughed to himself…he knew that Wes wasn't kidding with him, he could do it. Travis was getting sleepy, he really needed to sleep but he didn't want to have that dream again…of course he had no control over what happened.

"Night Wes…" Travis texted. "Thanks again."

"Night Travis..." Wes responded.

Travis covered himself up and fell asleep right away; he was comfortable on the couch he was ready to sleep. Miles away, Wes placed his cell phone on the night stand and rolled over…he was sick of this temporary living arrangement...he wanted something permanent. Morning had come quickly and both detectives got ready and their respective places. Wes left the hotel as he did everyday and drove to Travis' place, it was a routine that he was used to by now...he didn't mind it one bit.

"Morning Wes," Travis said answering the door.

"Morning Travis..." Wes said smiling at his partner who was dressed and ready to go for the first time probably ever.

The two detectives made their way outside to their waiting car; they weren't having their daily argument about being late because they weren't. The gray sky overhead loomed as the threat of an upcoming storm became more apparent. Wes started driving down the road, Travis looked over at him, he looked tired and he felt horrible for constantly waking him up.

"What?" Wes asked Travis when he saw him looking at him.

"You look tired..." Travis answered quickly.

"Maybe if I didn't have a partner that woke me up at all hours of the night I wouldn't be," Wes answered.

"I said I was sorry," Travis responded getting a little frustrated.

"I know you are," Wes said pulling into the scene. "I just need you to focus today..."

"I'm good," Travis said.

"You know that I'm here for you any time," Wes said turning off the car. "Day or night…it's what we do."

"Same…" Travis said taking his seatbelt off.

The detectives got out of the car and walked to where the other officers were, they were briefed on what happened as the sky let loose. They both agreed on one thing, they hated these kinds of scenes, a store was robbed less than an hour ago and the robber had escaped on foot. Another shot rang out as the rain poured down…Wes followed Travis down the block. They couldn't see the robber anymore the rain was making it harder and harder to see. The next thing they knew they were staring down the barrel of a gun, everything went fuzzy. All Travis remembered was holding onto Wes as he fell down clutching his arm, the warm blood oozed through his fingers as Wes tried to put pressure on his wound. Travis wasn't hit for some reason, he thought that he had heard the bullet hit the building barely missing him.

"Call 911," Travis screamed as officers rushed to their location.

The ambulance arrived and he watched Wes being placed in the back, he was in and out of consciousness. Travis had been checked out by EMT's on the scene he was cleared. He didn't know what to do, he wanted to go and see Wes, but after writing up everything at the precinct and getting interviewed by what seemed like everyone in the building he wanted to go home and sleep.

The Next Day:

Travis was given the day after the accident to rest and relax, he couldn't do either of those things, he wanted to go and visit Wes but he wasn't allowed. Detective Marks walked into the weekly couples therapy meeting, he was alone and he was hoping with whatever he had left that his loneliness was temporary. The other couples were talking amongst themselves when he sat down in his usual chair; he just wanted nothing more than to hear Wes.

"Where is your other half today?" Dr. Ryan asked Travis as she sat down waiting to begin.

"He's not here…there was...an accident," Travis responded.

Without getting into too many details about what happened at the scene, Travis told the group what had happened. The group fell silent; everyone was with their respective partners except for Travis. They all knew now what had happened to Wes…it wasn't a secret that Travis was hurting and missing his partner.

"He's the best person I know…" Travis said. "And I need him…because without him…I don't know what having something permanent is like."

"Let Wes know that we are all thinking of him," Dr. Ryan said.

"I will..." Travis said nodding his head as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"I know that everyone here has had their issues with their respective partners," Dr. Ryan said. "But it does not take away from the fact that you care about them…they are there for you….you love them…and let them know.

With that advice, she dismissed the group early; the other members silently collected their belongings and left the room. Travis looked at Dr. Ryan who was still sitting next to him, she got up and put her hand on his shoulder, collecting her belongings she left him. Travis looked around the room, it was an empty space that was used for a lot of different things, and it was a temporary place for a lot of people.

A Few Days Later

Travis arrived at the precinct on time, he was trying to get better at that. Walking to his desk, he gave a quick glance at Wes' desk. Travis had tried to neaten it up, of course it wasn't going to be to Wesley Mitchell standards but it was good enough. He sat down, tuning everyone else out he dove into the case files. He was so involved in them he didn't notice that someone had walked in, looking up he couldn't believe his eyes. It was what he wanted most in the world, standing right in front of him and he didn't want it to ever go away.

"Come here…" Travis said opening his arms.

"Travis…no hugging," Wes said. "Ok fine."

Wes gave in and hugged his partner…Travis felt at home in Wes' arms, even the bandaged one. He was so happy that they were back together and Wes was going to be Ok.

"I didn't know if I was going to see you again." Travis said to him.

"This..." Wes said pointing to himself and Travis. "Is not temporary…this is forever…no matter what."

"You missed me." Travis said sitting at his desk.

"I did not…" Wes said sitting down. "I had silence for once."

"You hated the silence," Travis said. "You need me to make your life crazy!"

"Get to work Detective Marks!" Wes said laughing.

Wes threw some paperwork on Travis's desk and smiled at him. He was right, but he would never tell him that. He cared about Travis, he was his family and he was the one permanent thing in his life.

Thanks for reading! Part 3? Look for it!