Thanks for your patience while I updated this. I'm very glad that you are enjoying it. I'll try and post the next chapter either tonight or tomorrow. Stay tuned, the ride isn't over yet!

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Sam closed his eyes as he leaned back against the fence. Shit, he was so fucking exhausted he couldn't stand it.

"Sam?" Curtis asked. "Are you okay?"

"'M fine," Sam said sleepily as he leaned back against the table. He really was so damn tired it was not funny. Like, at all.

He forcefully exhaled as he closed his eyes. Damn, why was the room spinning so much? He really felt sick.

"Sam?" He heard Mike ask. "Hey Zac, can you get over here? I think Sam's about to faint."

Faint? That was hardly an honest assessment, he wasn't about to faint! That wasn't fair. He could only bring himself to be not so bothered though.

Yawning he closed his eyes. If he could just sleep... Then everything would be okay, right? Yes, everything would be okay. He nodded to himself-this would be good.

"Curtis, has he had anything to eat or drink?" Zac worriedly asked. "When was the last time he did?"

"Um, I don't know? No, wait! He ate this morning, but it was only a bowl of soup and he didn't drink anything."

Zac nodded before muttering, "Fuuuuuuck." Then he glanced at Curtis, "Sorry."

He nodded. "It okay. What's wrong with him?"

"Well he's thirsty, I think. Is that your backpack?"

"Yeah, I think he put some water in there..." Curtis reached in and grabbed his backpack. "Yeah! Here it is, yay!"

Zac smiled in amusement. "Thanks. What's his name?"

"Name's... Sam," he said sleepily. "What's going on? Where is Curtis?"

"I'm right here," Curtis volunteered.

"Good-glad you're okay," Sam said.

"Sam, I need you to do me a favor okay? I need you to breathe deeply, inhale and exhale. Okay?"

Sam nodded, but man, breathing hurt so bad.

"Okay, now I need you to drink some water okay Sam?" He asked.

"Y-yeah..." He said as he looked around the area. He felt so damn sick to his stomach-it really wasn't fair.

"Great, but SAm don't drink so fast, you'll get sick," the man said.

Sam nodded.

"He has someone on the way for him named Boss," Mike said.

"Good, because I really don't want to call an ambulance for him if he doesn't have insurance," Zac said.

Micah appeared in the crowd and Curtis' face paled. "Sam, Micah's here! I don't wanna go with him!"

Just then the large crowd that had been surrounding them dispersed into the dining room for breakfast. Sam was so out of it he wasn't even paying attention.

"So I'm gonna guess he's not your friends ride then hmm..." Mike nodded at Zac.

"Curtis, thank God! I can't believe that it took so long to find you. My word, I was so worried! Is Sam okay?"

"Get away from me!" Curtis snapped angrily.

"Hey, buddy," Zac said, "the kid doesn't want to be near you. Why is that?"

"Back off, Micah," Sam said as he finally noticed the man standing there. "I'm fine, really."

"You are most certainly *not* fine, young man. Your father has been looking everywhere for you!"

Sam clenched his fists. "My father? Are you serious? My father was a bastard, but he was nowhere near as much of a bastard as you, asshole. My suggestion is that you leave before you get legally charged with kidnapping a minor and a member of SRU."

"You want my suggestion? You come with before I beat the snot out of Curtis," the man growled angrily.

"Hey-" Sam started to say, but Zac spoke up first.

"You do realize you just threatened assault on a minor, right? Threats of assault of any kind are against shelter rules, and I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to leave now."

Micah glared dismissively at Zac. "You're just a resident here, which means you're homeless, scum."

"I may be temporarily without a shelter, but that means nothing. You, on the other hand, have just proven that you have no disregard for certain rules and regulations."

"They don't apply to me," Micah sniffed. "Sam, Curtis-let's go."

"No," Sam said. "I don't take orders from you. Not anymore."

Zac glanced at Sam. "Are you the kids legal guardian?" He asked Micah.

Micah shook his head. "No..."

"Are you Sam's legal guardian?"

"No, but-"

"Then get out of here."

Micah growled and lunged for Curtis. Curtis backed away. "Sam!"

Sam and Zac were both already there, though. Sam grabbed the man's hands, and nodded to Zac, "he just tried to attack a minor-there are a pair of cuffs on his belt."

"I wasn't gonna attack Curtis! I was going to attack you, you miserable shit!" He said.

"Yeah, but I'm still a law enforcement officer," he pointed out. "So, you are still under a arrest."

"I'm a police officer too!"

"Then you should know the rules," Zac said as someone else came out of the house with a phone in their hand, trailed by Mike.

"What's going on?" Brendan asked.

Sam's jaw dropped open for just a second before he quickly recovered. "Brendan-"

"How am I here? I'm here because I knew you would try and pull something stupid like this, why do you think the police station won't let people make phone calls and reports on their whereabouts? Now let Micah go, and we can go back to normal. Although I must say, I think you need some serious counseling since you're willing to attack an officer."

"Nice try, but no," Sam said. "I'm not going back with you..." He said. He suddenly felt dizzy, rolling over and fainting.

"Sam? Sam?" Curtis asked worriedly. He looked nervously at Zac. "Sam can't go back with Daddy, he hurted him."

"And now you see why Curtis should not be around Sam. He is a bad influence," Micah said, glaring at the two as if it was supposed to be intimidating to them when Zac had him in handcuffs.

"You're not going to get your hands on that kid if I have anything to say about it and a police officer signs off on it - someone who is not you," Zach muttered. He'd seen Sam's reaction. "Mike, make sure Sam's okay?"

Mike nodded, resting his hand on his forehead. "He's not feverish, so that's good."

"Micah doesn't let him sleep," Curtis said, "Do you think that could be why he fainted?"

Zac and Mike exchanged looks. "Maybe," Mike said. "I'm not a doctor, though... Maybe that's his ride," he said, looking over at the police car.

"Sam!" Ed yelled, racing over to where his friend lay. He recognized Micah instantly. Parker raced after him, running into Brendan, grabbing his hands and cuffing them behind his back.

"You're under arrest for kidnapping a police officer, assaulting a police officer and whatever else I can think to pin on you," Parker said.

"You have no proof," Brendan snarled. "Lemme go."

"On the contrary I have plenty of proof, I arrested you, didn't I?" Ed asked before he shoved him in the back of a truck.

"We'll take him from here, boys, thanks," Parker said, flashing his SRU badge. Zac nodded and released him.

"Sam, it's Boss, are you okay?" Parker asked. "Hi, you must be Curtis," he said, smiling at the kid.

"I think Sam's tired," Curtis said. Ed was on the phone calling the EMT. "Daddy wouldn't let him sleep."

"He seemed to be kinda out of it when he was here," Mike offered. "He asked if I could use my phone, so I let him. Then these two bozos showed up."

"So, they kidnapped Sam then?" Zac asked.

"Yes, they did. He's a member of the Police Strategic Unit, I thank you for your help," Parker said.

"He tried to get help from the police station, but they don't let fucking nobody use their phones, so they wouldn't let him use theirs, they thought he was homeless, I gather."

Another black SUV stopped and Jules ran out, relieved. "Sam okay?" she asked.

"I think he should be, with rest and sleep," Ed said.

Sam opened one eye. "Ed?" he mumbled.

"Yeah, buddy."

"You can't be here."

"Why not?"

"Because you're dead. Am I hallucinating now?" Sam asked as an ambulance sounded in the distance.

"No, I'm not dead. Someone was trying to kill me so we had to fake a news report to get them to believe I was dead. You okay, buddy?" Ed asked.

"No, I'm really tired... and thirsty... and sore..." Sam closed his eyes. "I don't feel good... Wait, I heard Jules..."

"Yeah, she's here. We'll get you to a hospital."

"Curtis?"

"Curtis is here. He's okay."

"Can I go to the hospital with Sam?" Curtis asked.

"I think that would be a good idea," Ed said. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I'm worried about Sam. Is he going to be okay?"

"Yeah, he should be fine. I'm Ed. I work with him. You want to ride with us to the hospital?"

"I guess... Do I have to go back with my Daddy? I love him, but he hurted me."

"No, not for a long time, Curtis."

"Good, I was worried," Curtis said.

Ed smiled tightly as the ambulance came, and then all his thoughts were focused on the present and getting Sam to the medical care center safely.

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Challenge: So, are Brendan and Micah safely locked away for good...?

Don't forget to vote for your favorite character! Sorry if I missed anyone's here-I'm going to double check, and if I did miss someone's I'll put them in the next chapter.