When Our Frames Collide

By Carolina Blue

Today's chapter brought to you by the song "Happier" by Guster!

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CHAPTER NINE: IF THIS WILL MAKE YOU HAPPIER

Noah had never been more grateful for his therapy sessions than he was in this moment. Because counting silently and breathing slowly were the only things keeping him from losing his head right now. He managed a very shaky nod to the woman who had just asked if he was okay. "F-fine. Sorry, I'm sorry."

She smiled, probably glad that the strange guy she had run into wasn't a completely moronic weirdo. "No, no, it's my fault. I can always be counted on to run into things before I get my caffeine in the morning!"

The man next to her, Noah knew his name was Eric and wished he didn't, was also looking him up and down. "You sure you're okay, son?"

And just before that could send Noah into the tailspin he could feel coming on, the door to the coffee shop opened again. And in walked a bleary-eyed Casey. "Noah! Dude, there you are. Listen, maybe I shouldn't have, but I just talked to-" Then he took in Noah's pale face and the two strangers standing between them. He immediately, and probably instinctively, moved to stand next to his friend. "Hey, you okay?" And then he got a good look at the people who had obviously freaked Noah out, and nearly freaked out himself. "Whoa."

"Casey," Noah tried to grab his arm casually but was probably failing epically. "Hey." His mouth said 'hey' but his eyes were saying 'Get me the hell out here!'

And fortunately, Casey was fluent in Noah-lish. "Sorry to barge on in here man, but we've actually gotta go. You know, places to go, people to see, trains to catch, all that stuff." As he spoke he gently guided Noah to the door and outside before Mr. and Mrs. Miller could say or do anything more. Once they were out on the sidewalk, Casey turned to him, eyes searching and concerned. "Noah?"

He could only shake his head. "Can't." He needed to get as far away as possible. Idly he wondered if Vancouver was nice this time of year. One, two, three. Four, five, six.

Casey was still leading him back to the motel. "I cannot friggin' believe that just happened," he muttered. Louder, "Hey, everything's okay, understand me? We're going to go back to the room, pack our stuff, and get the hell out of Augusta. Just keep breathing, man. It's okay." He kept up a litany of words, and Noah tried to focus on them instead of the panic that was slowly starting to build in the back of his brain.

Before he knew it they were at their room door, Casey still talking a mile a minute about absolutely nothing. Casey opened it and took a step in, and then stopped dead. Noah, still not completely aware, almost ran into the back of him. "What…?" And then he followed Casey's gaze into the middle of their motel room.

"Hey," Luke offered a worried smile, hands clasped behind his back.

"Oh dude, thank God!" Casey ran quickly into the room, grabbed Luke in a relieved hug, and then picked up his jacket. "Call me when you guys are ready to go home!" And then he was gone.

Noah just stared at Luke, not really sure he was seeing things correctly. "You're here?" it came out as a whisper. He kept his back against the door.

"Yeah," Luke stayed quiet too, looking more worried by the second.

He was probably wondering why Noah was still stuck standing in one spot. At least he didn't seem mad at Noah for running away. That was one fear Noah could put to rest (one down, seven hundred billion more to go).

Luke's eyes widened in that particular way they did whenever he was about to start babbling. "I couldn't find my phone yesterday, and then something was wrong with it, I didn't even know I had any messages, but it looked like you hadn't called which was weird, so I called into my voicemail so I wouldn't have to throw that temper tantrum, and then I heard your messages, and Casey's, and I got on the first flight down here, and, uh, usually you cut off my rambling by now…" Luke finally took a breath, finally took a good look at his boyfriend. "How's today going for you?" he asked, his voice more gentle as he took in Noah's appearance.

Noah tried to laugh but it didn't work. "It pretty much sucks." His hands were starting to shake. Luke took a few steps closer, and that gave Noah the strength to continue. "We just went to get coffee. They were there."

"Who was there?" Luke asked quietly, confused. He was standing in front of him now.

"The Millers. The parents. I saw them. Ran into them at the door. They looked at me. Spoke to me," Noah had no idea why it was so much easier to talk in chopped sentences, but it was.

Luke was holding both of his hands in his. "God, Noah. Do… do you want to talk about it? Or do you want me to just shut up?"

He smiled a little at that, his head down. Sometimes he wished Luke would ask that question more often, but not right now. "Do you remember me promising not to let any of this sink in until you were with me?"

A hand was on his face, trying to guide it upwards to look at Luke, but Noah couldn't do that yet. "I remember," Luke answered softly.

"It's sinking in," he said simply. More than just his hands were shaking now. He forced himself to look up. "Luke? They look like me." It felt like rocks were settling in his lungs, weighing him down. "They look like me."

The next few seconds were a blur, and somehow Noah found himself collapsed to the floor. Luke was right there with him with his arms wrapped around him tightly. "It's okay, it's okay," he whispered over and over.

He bowed his head down until it rested on Luke's shoulder. And yet again, for the second time in a week, tears started running traitorously down his face. It was real. It was all real. Noah had a family, had parents and siblings he'd never known about. The Colonel had screwed him over yet again. "It's not fair," he murmured.

Luke's hold got impossibly tighter. "I know. It's not." He dropped his chin on top of Noah's head, resting it there. "I'm so sorry, Noah."

"He stole me," Noah kept talking softly. "He stole me from my life. From a family. From growing up without the fear of… of him. Of everything." He tried to will himself to stop crying, but it just seemed to make things worse.

"I know, baby, I know." Luke managed to tip Noah's head up to look at him. He smiled a little, wiping away some of Noah's tears. "But you know what else I know? You, my incredibly brave and strong boyfriend, are going to be okay. We'll figure all of this out. And you won't have to do any of this alone." He brushed a light kiss across Noah's forehead. "In fact, I'm going to have to insist on that."

Noah gave a watery laugh, resting forward against him. They stayed that way for awhile, Luke rubbing his back until the tears finally stopped. "I'm not strong," he spoke up after a few minutes.

"What?" Luke shifted back a little so he could see Noah's face again.

"I'm not strong," he repeated. "You said I was brave, a-and strong? But I'm not. Look at me, Luke." He gestured at himself with a still shaking hand. "I'm not."

"Hey." Luke pulled away long enough to grab Noah's head in both hands, holding him steady. "First of all, I said you're incredibly brave and strong. Second of all, I am looking at you and that's what I see."

"I ran away," Noah protested, twisting around so they were sitting side by side. Luke let him, but threw his arm around Noah's shoulders and let his hand sift through his hair over and over. "I'm sorry."

Luke just shook his head. "I wouldn't exactly consider this running away from your problems. In fact, in a way, you were confronting them head on, weren't you?" He continued before Noah could think about answering. "And really, Noah, I promise I understand."

Noah moved in a little bit closer, curling into Luke's side. "I panicked. I didn't mean to, and I couldn't control…" he ran out of excuses, ducking his head again.

"That's the definition of panic, I think," Luke whispered. He poked Noah in the ribs, garnering a smile. "But if freaking out like this bothers you so much, maybe it'd be worth talking to Dr. Weston about at some point? You know, when you bother to show up for a session?"

Noah managed to wince and chuckle at the same time. "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?" he relaxed a bit when Noah picked up his free hand and kissed it.

Noah looked him in the eyes, slightly pleading. "Is it okay if you're the one who has a crisis next? I'm kinda sick of being 'poor Noah'."

"I'll do my best," Luke answered solemnly. He tilted his head to the side so it rested against Noah's. "And if it makes you feel any better, you're not 'poor Noah.' You're my Noah."

Noah leaned in for a kiss, hoping that Luke understood that yes, it did make him feel a little better.

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Back into the belly of the beast, Jack grumbled to himself as he once again surrendered his gun at the check-in desk. He really wished there was some other way to get this information, but if there was he hadn't thought of it yet.

He nodded to the guards outside the interrogation room, just like last time, and just like last time he had to gather himself before going in. "You know, I hate being here, but there's something really satisfying about seeing you behind bars," he commented as he sat down across from Winston Mayer.

The man obviously didn't agree with him. "What do you want now?"

Jack opened up one of the folders he had brought in with him. He flipped it around so Mayer could see what was inside and slid it forward, his own eyes never leaving the man. He then pulled out a voice recorder, turning it on and placing it between them. "In accordance with all regulations and that crap, I'm informing you that this conversation will be recorded. Now. Andrew Miller. I want to know why."

Mayer's eyes widened and then, to Jack's complete shock and annoyance, he started to laugh. "What, are you here to arrest me, Detective Snyder?"

Jack kept calm, shook his head. "Just want to know the truth. How did Andrew become Noah? Why did he become Noah?" The former Colonel was quiet for a long time, and Jack waited. He wasn't leaving until he got the whole story.

Maybe Mayer realized this, or maybe he actually wanted to tell the truth after twenty years of lying. Or maybe he really was that crazy. Whatever the case, the man's eyes took on a distant, faraway look as he began to speak. "There was an incident. An, an accident, really. Noah was two years old when he died."

Jack swallowed hard. He wished he had prepared himself better for this, hearing a sentence like that was just so surreal. So that's why Noah had an authentic birth certificate. "How did he die?"

Mayer looked at him sharply. "I am a good father."

"How did he die?" Jack asked again, calm and as neutral as possible. He needed to know the story. Noah needed to know.

Mayer was shaking his head. "We weren't… she wasn't paying attention. If we- if she hadn't been-"

"Colonel Mayer," Jack kept his voice firm. Incarceration really was doing a number on this guy. "What happened to Noah?"

"He died," the man answered, his eyes faraway again. "We couldn't tell anyone, they would have… It was an accident!" he insisted. "But they wouldn't have believed us. I was about to be made a Colonel, this would have ruined everything."

"You covered up your son's death?" Jack prompted. Half of brain was trying to add this story up logically, and the other half was wondering how the hell he was going to repeat it to Noah and Luke.

"I needed a son," Mayer continued, halfway ignoring Jack. "No one could know this happened. Charlene, she wasn't as… but I needed a son."

Jack took another slow breath. "How did Andrew come into the picture?"

"We were in Augusta. At a park. Saw the family, Charlene saw him. He looked so much like Noah. So much like him. I couldn't look away." Mayer shook his head. "You don't understand what it's like, to lose your child. I'm not someone who- I don't lose my son. He was there in that park, it was Noah."

"It was Andrew Miller," Jack corrected quietly, clasping his hands tightly under the table so he didn't use them to do something else. "And you kidnapped him."

"I needed a son," the man repeated, his voice almost a growl. "I needed Noah. So I waited. I watched them, and I waited for the perfect moment to take him. I brought him back home, to our home."

"How was Charlene involved?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.

Mayer scoffed loudly. "Charlene was never the same after what happened to Noah. She tried to blame it on 'depression' or what have you, but there wasn't a need for that. I brought the boy to her, I gave her Noah again."

"And she went along with it?"

"For awhile," Mayer answered. "She just stopped caring, about everything. It took the boy awhile too, he was so quiet and upset at first, crying all the time, but I taught him." Sounding almost proud, "He learned his place soon enough."

Jack turned his head, biting the inside of his cheek. He didn't want to think too hard about how that little boy had learned his place. Good God, there was just no limit to the amount of disillusion, of iniquity, in this guy. After he regained his composure, he turned back. "And no one figured it out, no one suspected?"

Mayer still looked proud. "I had us transferred right after. I have friends in higher places than you, Detective, so I had the paperwork rushed, the appropriate forms in the right hands… there was no reason for anyone to question."

And that explained the files his FBI friend had found confusing. And yet Jack felt no satisfaction in finally getting the answers. It was quite possible that the only satisfaction he'd get would be in planting his fist in the Colonel's face. "So why did you keep up the lie, even now? Why did you keep trying to make Noah your son, even when he-"

He slammed his cuffed hands down on the table. "Noah ismy son!"

Jack leaned forward, meeting his anger head on. "Noah was your son. Andrew Miller never was."

Mayer flinched. "No, no. Noah is my son. It wasn't supposed to end up like this, Noah wasn't supposed to be this way. If he had just… He was supposed to be what I wanted, what I-"

He couldn't help himself this time, he had to move before he actually committed a crime inside a prison. Jack got to his feet, pacing a little. Anything to keep him from reaching across the table and strangling this man.

"You can't do anything," the Colonel rambled on. "You can't change what I did, you can't fix it. You can't change him. Noah is who he is- he's my son. He belongs to me."

Okay, no. That was it. Jack snatched the voice recorder off the table, stopping the tape as he did. "He doesn't belong to you. He never did. I always knew that, I just didn't realize it was biologically true until now." He gathered up the files he'd brought in, glaring at him. "Noah's always been way too good of a person to have come from you or Charlene. He's not a Mayer, thank God." He nodded. "Stick around, Colonel, you'll be hearing from the courts soon."

Mayer tried to stand up as Jack stormed over to the exit. "Does he know? Did he find out?" Jack just looked at him, then turned and opened the door. "Does Noah know?!" the man kept shouting even as Jack closed the heavy, concrete door behind him. Slamming that shut was the only satisfying thing to come out of this entire damn visit. He ignored the questioning looks from the guards as he dropped off his ID badge and reholstered his gun at the check-in.

It wasn't until he was back outside, moving through the parking lot, that he started to feel like himself again. Rubbing at the tense muscles in the back of his neck, he shook his head at Holden, who stood leaning against the hood of his car with a cup of coffee.

"Well?" his cousin asked quietly, handing Jack his own cup.

Jack stared down at the coffee. "Well," he echoed, voice rough. "I've got bad news, and I've got bad news."

"Damn it," Holden breathed out quietly. "It's true? It's all true?"

Jack looked up, locking eyes with Holden. "We need to talk to Noah."

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Luke settled back in his seat, looking out the window. Man, he couldn't remember the last time he'd actually been on a train. He felt something heavy land on his shoulder, and turned back around with a smile, kissing the top of Noah's head. "Love you," he whispered.

"Same here," Noah whispered back. He made himself comfortable leaning into him, pulling one of Luke's hands into his lap and tapping on his fingers. "Was Damian okay with you leaving New York early? He didn't get mad?"

Luke smiled, resting his head on top of Noah's. "No, he fine with it. I told him you needed me." In truth Damian had acted a little weird about it, but Luke couldn't exactly describe how, and Damian had quickly agreed that Luke should go. It was amazing how understanding he was about all of this.

"At least you got a day's worth in. I don't feel as bad about you missing the trip," Noah commented. "Everything went okay, right?"

"Yeah," he answered, choosing not to get into Noah's ever-present problems with guilt. "Got through my meetings, and I might've even- crazy as this sounds- helped the company some."

"Really?" Noah lifted his head to look at Luke with a smile. "That's great." He kissed Luke's cheek softly. "Proud of you, Luke."

Luke couldn't help it, he had to wrap an arm around him, pull him close and kiss him back. God, the things Noah did to him, even without meaning to. He shook his head, flustered. "I didn't do all that much. I mean, Damian runs that whole company. I don't know how he does it every day, it's insane. It makes my head hurt just thinking about it."

Noah grinned a little again, looking more at ease than Luke had seen him in days. "It does?"

"Oh God yeah. I mean, looking at everything the company handles, I don't know how he makes as much profit as he does considering the fees for importing and exporting internationally. The conversion rates alone…" he trailed off when he realized that Noah's grin had widened. A lot. "What?"

Noah tried to put on his innocent face. "Nothing. Just, check you out, Mr. CEO. I never knew you were such a nerd."

Whatever expression was on Luke's face must have caused Noah to start grinning again. "Shut up."

Noah held up a hand, trying to school his face back into seriousness. "No, Luke, come on. Tell me more about these conversion rates."

He mock-pouted, sitting so he was facing forward again. "Shut up."

Noah nudged his shoulder with his own. "This explains that weird thing you have about me wearing glasses."

Luke nudged him right back. "A: shut up. B: it's not a weird thing. You look hot in glasses. And C: You usually wear them in bed. Somehow, for some reason, anything you wear in bed is hot."

"You guys realize I'm sitting here too, right? That I can hear everything you're saying?" Casey groaned from the seat in front of them. "I am not spending this entire train ride as Third-Wheel-Casey."

Luke's grin was matching his boyfriend's now. He pulled Noah close to him again even as he kept his voice loud enough for Casey to hear. "Baby, I think you woke Casey up too early this morning. You know how he gets when he hasn't had his beauty sleep."

"Be nice to Casey," Noah said, his head back down on Luke's shoulder. "He had another fight with Alison yesterday."

They ignored his exasperated groan. "Really? You know, Jade didn't want to go to Movie Night because of him," Luke mentioned to Noah, not at all off-handedly. "Do you think something happen between them?" he kicked at the seat in front of him.

"It's none of your business," they could both hear their friend grumble.

"Do you think that's ever stopped me before?" Luke had to point out.

Another groan, but this one was much more resigned. "We kissed, okay? We were yelling, and then we kissed. Last week."

Noah glanced over at Luke before he spoke up. "How do you feel about that?"

They could see Casey shake his head. "It was… it was a kiss. A good kiss, but that doesn't make it right. I'm dating Alison. No matter how great the kiss was, I really can't see myself dating Jade. Awesomely kissing her, maybe. Dating, no. Honestly, how could I possibly…"

Luke lifted his arm a little as Noah leaned forward towards their friend. "You can't help how you feel, Case," he said quietly. "Trust me, nothing good comes from fighting feelings just because you think someone else thinks you should." Noah blushed a little, sitting back with Luke again. "Did that make sense?"

Luke kissed him quickly, reassuring. "Made sense to me."

"That's great. Thanks Obi-Wan and Yoda, but I still don't know what to do," Casey waved a hand back at them.

Noah shrugged. "You could always ask Luke for advice," he suggested slowly, eyes twinkling. "He dated Jade."

Luke's jaw dropped, and he barely heard Casey's muffled laughter in front of him. He smacked Noah on the shoulder, mock-pouting again. "Jerk." Though he'd gladly put up with being teased all day long if it kept Noah smiling.

"Technically, I'm the only one here who hasn't kissed Jade," Noah kept at it.

Luke snorted. "Well, I'm the only one here who hasn't kissed Maddie," he shot back.

Finally, Casey's head popped up over the back of his seat and he fixed both guys with a Margo-esque glare. "Okay, first of all, thank you so much for your help and support. Second, any stranger listening to this conversation would think we're all freaks." Then he rolled his eyes, grinning his grin. "And judging by this conversation, you two are the worst gay boys ever, and I feel like a slut. So thanks."

"Anytime," Luke and Noah chorused together. Casey turned back around, and Luke pulled Noah back to him as they settled down for the rest of the ride back to Oakdale.

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Tom shook his head, staring at each of them in turn. "This is real? It's not some, I don't know, January Fools joke?"

"Unfortunately, it's all true," Holden confirmed somberly.

Jack leaned back against the kitchen island. "I've got everything that Hunter and Noah found out online. Everything Emily Stewart discovered… however she discovers things. And everything my friends in the FBI found, and Lucinda's private investigator-"

"The best in the business," Lucinda cut in from where she sat next to Marcus.

Jack continued with a nod. "And…" he pointed to the voice recorder he had just played for everyone. "We've got a confession."

Lily sniffed, still trying to hold back the tears that came from listening to the Colonel's recording. Emma patted her arm softly, her face just as stricken. Holden looked at both of them, then turned back to Tom. "We're still trying to process all of this too, Tom. We just figured it couldn't hurt to have some legal perspective while we're at it," he explained.

"So you're wondering what the next step should be?" Tom guessed.

Jack sighed heavily. "Technically, because of my job, I'm pretty much legally bound to inform the family about Noah. It's my 'duty' to close the case." He shrugged. "I'm just not sure that I can. Or how to do it."

"Well you could go directly to the family," Tom mused. "But it might be better to contact the local or state police there. Or talk to your contacts at the FBI, a missing person/kidnapping case from that long ago may have reached mid-level investigation there."

"Won't doing that just bring more attention to this, though?" Lily pointed out. "Then we'd have more than Emily to worry about. This would be a media frenzy. Honestly, if this was some random stranger we didn't know, I admit I'd probably be getting Kim to cover this for WOAK. Shouldn't we keep this a secret as long as possible?"

"If I may?" Marcus raised his hand, speaking up for the first time since hearing the recording. "I know we're all here because we care about Noah, I don't mean to insinuate otherwise, but it is my job to consider his welfare." He looked at all of them seriously. "I think our next step should be up to him."

Lucinda turned with a smile, and to the shock of all them, planted a kiss on him. "I do believe I agree," she proclaimed proudly.

Tom fought back a smile. "Well, in the meantime, I can get an injunction to stop Emily from pursuing the story any further, at least for the time being. Until a DNA test is done, we can call it all speculation and hearsay. She has nothing to report."

"You can do that?" Holden asked.

He smirked sardonically. "Getting to use 'Emily Stewart' and 'gag order' in the same sentence? I'd do it every day if I could." Lucinda snorted inelegantly, and everyone else chuckled.

Everyone but Emma. "Where is Noah?" she asked, lifting her head from the mug of tea in front of her. "No one's heard from him in a day or so, shouldn't we be worried?"

Holden shook his head, gesturing to his wife to speak. Lily took a deep breath. "Noah and Casey went to Augusta yesterday, they should be back sometime soon," she admitted reluctantly.

"What?" Lucinda and Marcus spoke at almost the same time, in almost the same tone.

"Casey?" Tom's eyes narrowed, and he pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off the incoming headache. "Casey's in Georgia?"

Lily smiled, trying to put them all at ease. "It's not as bad as it sounds. Noah decided he wanted to see the house, the one he remembered, and Casey went with him. Casey called us this morning, he said they'd be back before dinner. They're probably close to home by now."

"Noah went to Augusta," Marcus repeated, as though trying to convince himself that it was true. He turned to Lucinda. "That's why he missed yesterday's session."

"And I'm more than guessing that that's the 'road trip' that Casey referred to," she replied.

"Regardless," Jack waved to get everyone's attention. "We're all in agreement then, right? That it's Noah's call?"

"What's my call?"

They all turned as one to look at the door. Noah stood there with his hand clasped tightly in Luke's, looking like he was walking into a surprise inquisition. Luke's free hand was planted on his hip as he took in the scene with a glare.

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Luke tried to keep his glare to a minimum as he looked around the kitchen. When Faith had said Mom and Dad were at the farm, he hadn't expected that it was for a damn 'committee' meeting. There were far too many people in here who were far too good at meddling. He gripped Noah's hand tighter. "If you want to run, I'm right behind you," he murmured out of the side of his mouth.

"Too late, I think we've been spotted," Noah mumbled back, trying to keep up the teasing. The light, playful mood they'd tried to keep up on the train was evaporating quickly.

"Luke!" Lily stood, moving towards them. "What are you doing here?"

"Casey and Noah called me, I went to Augusta this morning to keep them out of trouble," he explained, returning his mother's hug. He couldn't help but smile when Lily hugged Noah next, and Noah hugged her tightly back. The disapproving frown returned though, as soon as she stepped back. "What's going on?"

"We were just discussing everything," Lucinda answered, her voice gentle, eyeing Noah.

"Everything about me?" Noah asked weakly. He probably hadn't meant it as an accusation, but a few faces blanched with guilt anyway.

"Noah." Jack stepped forward, his hand going to Noah's shoulder. He looked him in the eyes, calm and steady. "I promised I wouldn't keep anything from you, didn't I?" At Noah's nod, Jack continued. "I just got back from Statesville."

Both Luke and Noah took a step back and closer together. "What?!" Luke looked at everyone, eyes wide.

"You did?" Noah asked at the same time, voice nearly emotionless. Except for fear, Luke could hear the fear there. He fought the urge to stand protectively in front of his boyfriend, knowing it wouldn't help.

Jack nodded, apologetic. "I did. I spoke to your f- to the Colonel." Noah didn't even register the slip, so Luke stopped himself from interrupting and reprimanding his cousin. "He confirmed everything. It's all true, Noah. I'm sorry."

"I know it's true," Noah replied, quiet but steady.

Luke bit his lip, thinking of Eric and Autumn Miller and the coffeehouse encounter. He noticed that Dr. Weston, the only other person there who could read Noah's expressions as well as he could, narrowed his eyes at Noah's reaction. Luke caught his eye and shook his head slightly. Not now, he silently begged. Marcus frowned, but nodded his acceptance.

In the meantime, Emma was up and encouraging Noah to come sit down at the table. And since Noah could never say no to her, he dragged Luke over. There were two empty chairs left, and Noah (probably deliberately) sat in the one next to Lucinda, leaving the chair next to Holden open for Luke.

Luke glanced at the chair, glanced at his dad (who was wearing an impressively bland expression of his own), and then turned away. "I'm thirsty. Do you want a drink, Noah?" He headed for the fridge instead, but not before missing the epic eye-rolling of both Noah and Lily.

Jack gave a little eye-roll of his own, then faced Noah again. "So we have all the information, kid. From here, there are a couple different places we could go with it, but we aren't going to make that decision for you." He gestured around the room.

Holden reached across and briefly patted Noah's shoulder. "All of us here, we're going to be there for you and go with whatever you want to do. No judgment."

Noah looked around at all of them, the open and encouraging looks from everyone, the overwhelming support. "I…" he looked down, gathering his thoughts. Even with his head down, Luke could see him swallow hard, chew on his lower lip.

Luke couldn't stand it then, he had to sit in the empty chair and take his hand again. "No judgment," he repeated his dad's words in a whisper. "No pressure."

Noah nodded. Head still down, he twisted his and Luke's clasped hands back and forth in his lap. Luke was pretty sure he'd never heard this kitchen be so quiet, especially considering the people who were currently in it. Finally, Noah spoke. "I think, I think I should talk to them. The family."

Luke and Marcus exchanged a look again, remembering their conversation from last week. I think, knowing Noah as I do, that at some point he's going to want to meet this family… Give them closure, give them the truth.

"Are you sure?" Lucinda asked quietly, looking like she was afraid of spooking him.

He nodded, and Luke moved his free hand to Noah's arm, keeping him steady. "They're real people. They're real people who think that their child is dead. I have the power to fix that, to help them. I mean, I have to do something, right?"

He hadn't lifted his head yet, but Luke could see his face flushing. He was embarrassed, afraid of how everyone would react to his decision. Luke moved his hand from Noah's arm to his back, rubbing gently. Before he could open his mouth to reassure him, Lily got up from the table and walked around to them. She stood behind Noah's chair, put her hands on his shoulders, and kissed the top of his head. "Sounds like a plan," she said simply.

"This may be jumping ahead a little bit," Emma spoke up, "but they can come here." When everyone (except Noah) turned to stare at her, she grew a little flustered and focused on Noah. "If you ever want to meet them, sweetie- and I'm not saying that has to happen!- but if you do, I think it should be here, at the farm. With all of us, or as many of us as you need."

Noah was still looking down at his and Luke's hands, but he nodded. "I'll think about it," he stammered.

"Okay," Tom got moving, obviously sensing that Noah needed some space now. "Well then I think the best way is to contact local authorities in Augusta, or whoever handled the case back then."

"I'll do that," Jack jumped in. "If that's okay with you, Noah?"

Noah nodded. "Yeah," he answered, sounding relieved. Both Tom and Jack headed to the door, when Noah finally looked up. "Mr. Hughes?"

Tom stopped in the doorway. "Yes?"

He looked at Tom head-on. "Please don't be mad at Casey. It wasn't his idea to go to Georgia, he just didn't want me to go alone. He doesn't deserve to get in trouble, he was just looking out for me."

Luke fought back a proud smile and settled for squeezing his hand affectionately. He watched as Tom smiled as well. "Thanks, Noah. I promise I'll go easy on him." He nodded to everyone else and left.

Lucinda and Marcus were the next to stand and come closer. "And I swear to you darling, Emily won't be causing any more trouble. I won't let her," she vowed seriously.

Noah smiled his thanks, and then shifted nervously when Marcus approached. They looked at each other for a moment, conversing in that way Luke was still getting used to them doing, before both nodded, looking a little lighter than they had before. "I'll be in my office every day this week, if you want to talk before Thursday," Marcus said with a small smile. And then they were gone.

Emma busied herself collecting mugs and plates. "Would you all like to have your Friday Night dinner here tonight? I've made plenty of food," she offered. Still carefully looking at the sink, "Please?"

Lily and Holden shared a look, and then looked at Luke questioningly. He nodded slightly, and Holden smiled back at his mother. "That'd be great, Mama. I'll just go by the house, pick up the girls and Ethan."

Jack held up his keys from where he still stood by the door. "I'll give you a ride. I need to stop by the station."

Lily stood and helped Emma with the dishes and as they started up a casual chatter, Holden moved out to the porch, waiting for Jack. Jack, meanwhile, took a deep breath and stepped forward to the table, picking up a voice recorder that was sitting there. Luke eyed it curiously, as Jack held it out to Noah. "I think you should have this," he said quietly, looking at both of them.

"What is it?" Noah asked, taking the recorder gingerly.

Jack's smile was sad, apologetic. "No secrets, right? I, uh, I recorded the conversation with Winston. His confession."

The hand holding the recorder shook just a little, and Luke tightened his own grip on Noah. "Oh. Okay," Noah shoved the recorder in the pocket of his sweatshirt.

Jack grimaced and tried to hide it. "Can you promise me something, Noah?"

"Maybe?" Noah looked up at him, uncertain.

Jack's gaze shifted back forth between them. "Just, wait to listen to it until Marcus is with you. Take it to a session or something. Don't deal with this by yourself." He straightened up, giving them both one last smile before heading out after Holden.

With Emma and Lily talking at the sink, this was the first moment Luke felt like he had a chance to breathe since walking into the kitchen. He exhaled very slowly, trailing his hand up Noah's back. Noah glanced over at him, looking overwhelmed and exhausted. "You've been very quiet," he commented, attempting a smile.

Luke smiled back, smoothing down his hair. "I'm exercising self control. Aren't you proud of me?"

He huffed a laugh. "Always." He leaned his head to the side, and Luke met it with his own. "What do you think? About all this?"

Luke took his time with his answer, knowing how important it was. "I think? That you're very very brave and noble for wanting to contact the Millers. And I think that they will be very very lucky to get to know you."

Noah cleared his throat, keeping a lid on everything as much as he could. "Okay." He unconsciously tapped at the voice recorder in his pocket.

Luke reached out and touched the hand. "And I think I'm coming with you to your next session, so we can listen to that recording together." He tilted Noah's face towards his so they could share a brief kiss.

Noah offered up a more genuine smile. "And I think I love you."

Giving his puppy-dog face, Luke leaned in close. "You think?"

Another kiss. "I know," he responded softly. He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against Luke's again.

"You sure you're up for Friday Night dinner?" Luke had to be certain. "Natalie and Ethan running around, and Mom and Grandma being all mothering, and Faith'll know that something is going on, and Dad and I aren't exactly getting along…"

"Well when you put it like that," Noah smirked.

Luke grinned. "I'm serious, babe. If you want to go back to the apartment, eat some leftover pizza and then have lots of crazy, brain-frying sex for awhile, it's okay. I understand."

Noah stared at him wide-eyed. "I can't believe you would say something like that in Emma's kitchen. Especially with Emma and your mother standing right over there."

"They didn't hear me," he laughed softly at Noah's scandalized expression. Sometimes it was so easy. "And I'm kinda serious. We don't have to stay if you don't want to. It's two options for you, crazy family dinner or crazy, brain-frying sex. Take your pick."

"Luke…" Noah sighed, and Luke schooled his face to seriousness. Which was why he was shocked when Noah smiled again. "Is there any way we have time for both?"

Apparently, sometimes it was so easy for Noah too.

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"This whole thing is so unbelievable," Alison shook her head. "I mean, for Colonel Mayer I guess it isn't totally out of character, the guy has kidnapping down to an art form, but for Noah…"

"Yeah," Casey sat down next to her, passing over a cup of coffee. "It pretty much changes his entire life. Everything he ever went through just because that asshole was his father-"

"Was all for nothing," she finished. "Was all a lie."

"Yeah," Casey said again.

Ali wipes at her eyes quickly, glancing around at all the people walking through Old Town. "When Hunter told us- Jade and me- he said that Emily gave Noah information about the family."

Casey nodded. "That's part of what sent him off to Augusta. Though I think, for once, Emily didn't mean any harm by it."

"I'm sorry, by the way," she said abruptly. "I'm sorry I accused you of telling Jade and not me." She offered a smile. "It was pretty selfish of me, considering everything that's going on."

"Hey, it's not like I've been the best boyfriend in the world lately," Casey protested. "And I'm sorry too, for that."

She kissed him lightly, and both tried to ignore the lack of feelings it produced. "So how's Noah doing now?"

"No idea," he replied. "It's not going to be easy. Now he's got to figure out whether or not he wants to officially meet these people, tell them what he knows."

"Wait," Ali sat up a little straighter. "He might not?"

Casey shrugged. "I don't know, it's up to him." Narrowing his eyes a little, "Isn't it?"

"Of course it is," she was quick to say, "But of course he's going to meet them, he has to. They're his family."

"Well, they're Andrew Miller's family. We're not quite sure if they're okay to be Noah's family. It's not that simple," Casey argued.

Her eyes narrowed. "But these are parents who've been without their son for almost twenty years! Those poor people…"

"What about Noah? What about what he's been through?"

Ali's expression turned exasperated. "Hey, I didn't mean anything like that! And this could be good for Noah too, it's about time he had a real family of his own."

Casey shook his head. "He has the Snyders, doesn't he? At least we know they love him and care about him unconditionally. What if these new people aren't good enough?"

"Casey…" Ali looked at him, somewhere between frustrated and thoughtful. "The Snyders are wonderful, yeah, but it'd be nice for Noah to have something of his own too. A real mom and dad, a real history to be connected to, instead of Cheri and the Colonel. I really think he should meet these people."

"No," he insisted stubbornly. "I know Noah. If he meets this family, if they do anything to let him down, he'll never get over it. You don't know Noah like I do."

"Whoa, hey," Alison held up a hand. "Don't get mad at me for this. We both want Noah to be happy, don't we? I just think this could be good for him."

"Hey!" Jade was suddenly heading their way, just stepping out of Fashions. "What's up?"

They both calmed down, wanting to hide the fact that they'd been arguing (especially in front of Jade). "Hey," Casey said, running a hand haphazardly through his hair. "Not much at the moment, for once."

"Thank God," she muttered, smiling a little. "I'm about to head over to the farm for dinner, Noah and Luke are there. Apparently, Noah's decided to tell the family the truth. Jack and your dad are going to work on it."

"Wow," Casey murmured. And now his dad was involved.

"It's a good thing," Alison tried to maintain. "Anything's got to be better than having the Colonel as your only living family, right?"

"I guess," Jade responded before Casey could. "But what if these people do something to, I don't know, hurt Noah? Even accidentally? God, that would just kill him. He'd never get over it."

Casey winced, and Alison looked back and forth between them for a moment before standing up stiffly. "Okay, um, I have to go. I can't-"

"Ali…" Casey reached for her, but she was just out of reach and moving fast.

"I have to go. Sorry, I just…" she jerked her head to the side, her face flushing with embarrassment. "I'll see you later." And then she disappeared around the corner. Casey groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

"Okay," Jade drew the word out. "Was it something I said?"

"Unfortunately, yeah," Casey didn't look up. "But it's not your fault."

He felt Jade sit down on the bench next to him. "Want to hear something that'll probably cheer you up?"

He shrugged, still cradling his head. "Shoot."

"Your dad found out that you went to Augusta with Noah."

"What?" Casey's head shot up. "My dad knows? How is that supposed to cheer me up?"

Jade's smile was softer than he had seen in a long, long time. Certainly the nicest he'd ever seen directed at him. "Because Noah told him that it had been all his idea to go to Georgia and you only went because you're a good friend and wanted to help him." She bumped his shoulder with her own. "Thanks to him, your parents won't be pissed."

"Really?" Casey was smiling a little now too, pleased. It always felt a little strange when people randomly did nice things for him, for no reason at all.

Jade nodded, then opened her mouth hesitantly. "He's right, you know. About you being a good friend." She continued, sounding rushed, when he stared at her. "It's one of your few redeeming qualities, I'll admit." When he kept staring, she rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I said 'few'."

He smirked. "Good. For a second there I thought you were being nice to me."

"As if!" she looked sickened.

Casey held up a hand. "Don't worry, I won't make that mistake again."

They grinned at each other, and the moment lasted a little longer than it should have. Casey didn't even realize he was leaning in closer to her until she pushed him back a little. "Wait!" she sat back farther in the bench, away from him, her eyes wide.

Casey's eyes were just as big. "Oh crap. Oh crap, I didn't-"

"No, it's not that I-" she stood up quickly.

"I wasn't even-" he stood up as well.

"Casey!" Jade snapped her fingers in his face, startling him into silence. "Please God, shut up for once." Taking a breath, "It's not that I don't want to, okay? It's because I do."

Casey stared at her for a full minute. "I don't get it. Women are too confusing. Maybe I really should give up and try my luck at being gay for awhile. Maybe Luke and Noah would like another roommate…"

"I'd by tickets to that show," she fired back before she could stop herself. When he chuckled, she relaxed a little too. "No, Casey, it's just that… I don't want to be a mistress."

"What?"

She grimaced. "I just… We're supposed to be, like, the town screw-ups, right? And I don't want to be, not anymore. Not with something like this." Her face grew more determined even as Casey grew more dumbstruck. "You want to kiss me? Great, I'm ready and willing. But not while you have a girlfriend. I don't want to be that girl anymore, and I don't want to be with that guy anymore. And you don't either."

"No, I guess I don't," Casey replied numbly.

She nodded decisively. "So I'm sorry Casey, but you're going to have to make a choice. Alison or me. No more both or in between."

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Say what you want about how much drama taking this job has caused, Luke thought. But at least it's a good way to distract me from everything else. Why else would he go into the office on a Saturday? Anything to keep him from stressing about Noah, who was with Dr. Weston right now.

They had gone together and listened to Winston's confession, but then Luke had left the hospital right after. For one thing, he wanted Noah to be able to talk to the Doc alone, and for another… he needed a chance to vent his own anger at the Colonel without Noah seeing. And smashing that coffee mug against the wall in his office had been the perfect way to vent. (Man, at this point he might as well just put a picture of the man up on a dart board and keep it around for the next time he decided to go all Darth Vader on them.)

Though he wasn't sure he'd ever get over the feeling that had settled in his chest when he had heard the Colonel admit that 'Noah' was dead. If it weren't for the fact that his Noah had been sitting right next to him as the tape was playing… God, it was a horrifying feeling. Sometimes he forgot how lucky they both were that Noah had gotten through his childhood as well as he had. Luke kept getting a retroactive fear about it; anything could have happened to him before he arrived in Oakdale three years ago.

No. He couldn't agonize over it anymore. And now, going through files and contracts seemed like the perfect way to keep his brain busy. He even managed to get through all of his paperwork from the previous week and finalize the write-ups from his New York meetings.

Luke stood up and stretched, gathering the papers from his desk. He could drop these off on Damian's desk, get some milkshakes from Al's, and be back at the apartment before Noah got home from his session if all went according to plan.

"And how often does that happen?" he asked himself quietly as he stepped into Damian's office. He didn't expect the answer to come so soon- just as he placed his paperwork on top of the desk, something caught his eye. It was the layout of the pages that got his attention initially. He had been staring at those expense summaries for two months now; he could see them in his sleep.

Luke took a step closer, frowning slightly. He wasn't sure right off the bat why he sensed something strange about the pages. Of course Damian would have them on his desk, he was investigating the possible money-laundering. But these were different somehow…

It wasn't until he picked them up that he figured it out. He had given Damian the original printer-paper versions of the reports. But these were carbon copies, pages that only came with the original files. Damian had had the original summaries all along!

Luke quickly scanned them, wondering why Damian hadn't mentioned anything about this on the New York trip. Maybe he hadn't figured out the culprit yet? Or maybe he didn't want to burden Luke with any more drama? Luke wasn't sure.

There! There it was. There was one name on the carbon copy that hadn't been on the reports Luke had been using. D Thrace. Where had Luke heard that name before? His frown deepened as he studied the pages more in depth. Based on his slightly untrained eye, it looked like someone was paying this Thrace guy a sizeable amount of money each month, and wiping the name off the records when time came for the reports to be filed.

Luke put the papers back where he had found them and shuffled back to his own office. He knew that name from somewhere…

We're not finished talking about this, Thrace.

Damian had been talking to him on the phone in New York. Who the hell was this guy? Did Damian know that he was the possible money-launderer?

He felt that old familiar feeling creeping up in his gut. The one Casey liked to refer to as 'Crime-Fighter-Luke.' The one that pushed him during that whole drug dealer fiasco from last year, and had helped him find Noah in that cabin. The one that wouldn't let him give up on something until he knew the truth.

He sat back down at his desk, bringing up the Grimaldi Shipping database on his computer. If this guy was anyone important, his name should come up in a few searches… There it was. Thrace, Daniel. He worked for Port Authority, a Director of Fees and Shipping Regulation. And his direct contact to Grimaldi Shipping was-

Damian.

Luke sat back in his seat with a quick rush of air. "Damn it." This couldn't be true, could it? Damian wouldn't do this, he wouldn't risk his company. He wouldn't risk all his work, Luke's work, by getting into trouble like this.

Of course he would, Fake-Noah shook his head sadly. Don't live in denial about this, Snyder. You'll just get yourself into more trouble.

Luke shook his head, waving his Jiminy Cricket away. It was true, of course. Hadn't he just said that to Noah the day before? How he couldn't understand how Damian made so much profit considering fees for imports and exports? Well, now he knew.

Damian was bribing Port Authority officials.

…Now what the hell was Luke supposed to do?

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When the phone rang, her hands were half-submerged in soapy dishwater and it took her a few seconds to find a towel and dry them, as well as get an embarrassing amount of water on her shirt. By the time she answered the phone she was glaring at her shirt, and the sink, and the mountain of dishes she still had left. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Miller? It's Detective Beckett."

She went still, the dishes forgotten. She hadn't heard from Detective Beckett in years. He used to check in every few months, even after the case had been closed, but after awhile even that got to be too depressing for everyone. They had all tried to move on. A part of her really had. A part of her never would.

"Mrs. Miller?" he asked again.

"Yes, sorry. Sorry, Detective, I'm here. What…" her voice caught in her throat, and she cleared it nervously. "What is it?"

"I just got a call from a detective in Illinois." His voice grew softer, gentler. "It's about Andrew."

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TO BE CONTINUED!

Coming Up:

-Luke and Lily get overprotective

-Noah talks to Marcus about his fears

-Jade and Noah warn Luke