Disclaimer: I don't own "Lie to Me."

Author's Note: Guys, I'm sorry I'm being so flaky! Man, I need to get down to some serious work on these fanfics! Alright, this chapter could be looked at as a filler chapter, but I hope it's still interesting. Since I've dragged this out so long, just know that this is all before the marvelous Agent Reynolds is no longer with the team...Mostly because I like Reynolds better than the cop lady, but partly because I took forever. Enjoy!...I hope.

10. Mother in Distress

Liam was in agony.

It was bad enough that Eli was so pale and cold, but it was worse that he was still alive, crawling along in life with a slow pulse. Liam felt like his pain was being mocked. His hope would probably start to rise again, then Eli would slip from his grasp to leave Liam crashing back down again.

He could only think about how much he seemed to ignore Eli. How much advice Eli tried to give him, or when he tried to keep him from breaking the law, and Liam only waved it away without a second thought. He always told himself that Eli was just the little brother; what did he know? It took disaster to prove that Liam's kid brother knew a lot. He knew a sense of urgency that Liam never recognized and a responsibility Liam never understood. If he had only listened to Eli, he would have a much better life instead of scrounging around for money and doing what he thought was fun. Liam had always assumed that Eli's life was boring, but he never took the time to really understand what kind of person Eli was these days. For one, he had a lot of people who cared about him at the Lightman Group. Even that crazy boss of his seemed to worry about Eli.

Liam kind of missed that.

In his recent life, nobody cared about him. Not a single girl he's dated, or a thug he played weekly poker with. In his kind of world, nobody trusted anybody. It was all about greed and wanting.

Behind him, he could hear the door creak open.

"Boss wants to talk to you."

Cal was fidgety. Gillian knew why but she wasn't about to call him on it. Everything on his face screamed that he was worried and concerned, a rare look for the master liar. Not a single muscle was attempting to mask his feelings, making a sorry image for Foster to watch.

The Lokers were expected to come in any moment and Cal didn't know how he could face them. It was different for a family of strangers, where he didn't know the child or family circumstances. But he knew Eli and he knew that the kid probably had parents that loved and cherished him. Even for Cal, it was hard to even think about losing Eli.

Imagine what it was like for his parents to lose both of their sons.

"Um…Dr. Foster?"

The secretary stood at the door, traces of sorrow on her face. Everybody knew what was coming next, and they weren't sure what to think of it.

"The Lokers are here."

"Alright, send them in here." Gillian ordered, sighing and looking down at the ground. The secretary left Cal and Gillian alone in his office, both pondering how they would deal with this new situation. How do you deal with the grieving parents of a prized employee?

When the two came into the room, an air of complete depression followed them, nearly suffocating all other moods. Cal gathered up the courage to look at the parents, cringing while he took in the devastated expressions and deep worry lines.

Mr. Loker had the same dark signature waves of hair as his sons with a barely more muscular build. The smile lines on his face were etched more clearly than those of grief, but his guise held the look of an experienced and wise man. Cal almost felt as if his intelligence was challenged just by looking at Mr. Loker.

Mrs. Loker was a slender woman with long, auburn hair. She had wound her locks into a braid, keeping her face completely open for inspection. Unlike her husband, wrinkles of worry were starting to settle into her delicate features, marks of happiness lying faint on her skin. She clung to her husband like he was the only thing solid and true in the whole world.

"Dr. Lightman, it's nice to finally meet the man behind the name." Mr. Loker greeted stiffly, holding out his hand. Cal felt oddly intimidated by this man, wondering why Eli hadn't captured the same behaviors. He shook the man's hand and examined his new subject more thoroughly. Behind the sorrow, fear and anger swimming in Mr. Loker's eyes, he could see the familiar spark of life Eli had.

"Mr. Loker, I'm sorry 'bout all this." he quietly apologized, looking over at the poor mother for a small moment.

"Please, call me Joseph." Mr. Loker corrected, smiling weakly. Cal could tell he wasn't the type of man to even consider being called "Joe" or anything like it. "This is my wife, Andy." Andy gave a tiny nod in acknowledgement, but didn't say a word.

"Please, sit." Gillian offered, gesturing towards seats in Cal's office. The Lokers nodded and thanked her quietly, taking their seats on the couch. They always stayed close as if depending on each other.

"Is there any news on my boys?" Andy managed to squeak out. Joseph rubbed her back with a comforting hand, watching her with concern.

"Nothing yet." Foster replied sadly, avoiding eye contact out of discomfort.

"Do you know why this happened? Do you know how it got to this point?" Liam inquired, the fire of a father evident on his face. "I know Liam can be a bit…unwise in his decisions, but he's always managed to keep out of the worst trouble." Cal looked to Gillian, both looking unsure if they wanted to explain the circumstances to the Lokers. Joseph sighed and Cal turned to find the man staring intently at him.

"Perhaps it's best if we keep most of the details to ourselves." Gillian suggested. Andy turned to her husband and they both gazed at each other, a message passing through their invisible connection. But, both doctors knew she was pleading for more answers. She just wanted to know what was happening to her children.

"Do you two have any children?" Joseph asked, looking between Cal and Gillian. Gillian shook her head while Cal took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I've got a daughter." he admitted, predicting a cliché "you know what it's like" speech.

"Alright, so you're probably scared of what she'll get into when she's not home. But your more frightened of the boys she dates and spends her time with because you know what boys are like." Joseph explained. Cal wasn't sure where this was going. "Well, we raised those boys. We had the kind of boys that dads, like you, fear. When they were little, it was tiring but we thought it was just some boyish fun. After they started getting into their teen years, we'd always wonder if they were making the right choices, staying safe, or treating girls with respect. We wanted to know where they were, what they were doing and what we would have to deal with after they finished making their own mess of things. Right now, all we know is that are sons are missing, but it's killing us. Neither of us know what to expect or what to actually fear and we are tired of wondering and guessing. We've exhausted our anticipation and patience over the long years. Just tell us what is going on with our sons."

Cal's jaw tightened as he contemplated Joseph's words. Their fear wasn't new, just reborn and deepened. The worry had never truly gone away, especially with Liam running around finding new risks and dangers. Perhaps that was why Eli hadn't even suggested turning to his parents for help. He wanted to protect them from situations like these. Despite how open Eli appeared to be, he had never even mentioned his family in passing conversation. Cal was certain that if Loker had been asked about his family, he would slyly change the subject.

"There's nothing I can tell you to make you feel better." Cal mumbled. "Your boys are in some serious trouble." Joseph sighed while Andy swallowed visibly, but Cal knew they were still craving the awful the details. He turned to Gillian, silently informing her that he planned to spill the info. She glared at him, shaking her head slightly. As a psychiatrist, she often knew what was right to reveal and what wasn't. But, as a parent, Cal knew more about what the scared couple was thinking. They just wanted the truth.

That was what The Lightman Group specialized in, right?

"Liam had a little money trouble, so he came to Loker, uh…Eli for help. Eli didn't have enough money for all this, but he did his best to gather what he could for his brother. It wasn't enough and before we knew it, they were abducted. We suspect they were taken by the loan shark Liam borrowed from." Cal explained sorrowfully.

"Money trouble? Why didn't they just come to us?" Andy asked her husband, obviously concerned about the shyness of her sons.

"Well, then what do you suppose is happening to them?" Joseph inquired with a serious glint in his eye. Gillian sighed in effort to stop Cal. Lightman stayed quiet, pondering whether it was wise to tell the parents the usual suspicions of such a situation. Besides, he could hardly accept the common possibility himself.

He couldn't believe Eli was dead.

"Andy, why don't we get some tea?" Gillian suggested, standing up and offering Mrs. Loker a comforting smile. Andy looked to her husband, sniffling a little. He nodded, encouraging her to go with Gillian and calm her nerves. Hesitantly, Andy stood and the two women made their way out of the room and towards the break room. Gillian supposed that if Cal was going to talk, it'd be much better father to father. Mothers were usually more fragile.

"How are you feeling, Andy? Are you feeling okay?" Gillian asked sympathetically just as they entered into the break room. Andy took a moment to compose herself and dab her eyes with the tissue wound in her fingers.

"I'm fine; I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." she replied with a weak smile. Gillian gestured for her to sit at the small table while she busied herself with making tea.

"What do you mean?" Foster inquired. As bad as Liam seemed to be, he didn't seem like the type to take ridiculously risky chances and Eli just wasn't a daring kind of guy.

"My boys are daredevils." she chuckled weakly. "I used to think they were troublemakers, but now I think trouble just happens to find them." Foster quirked an eyebrow at the new information, never having suspected, in a million years, that Eli was a "daredevil." If Cal ever found out, he would be stuffed with glee. That is…if Eli ever came back.

No, he was coming back.

"Eli? A daredevil?" Gillian questioned. Right now, she would just have to concentrate on lifting Andy's spirits.

"Well," Andy laughed, sniffling at the same time. "he would follow Liam wherever he went. Liam would put him up to all sorts of things. I can probably get some sort of medical degree with what injuries I had to mend in their childhood." Andy stared at the ground, the wheels turning in her head as she pondered the past. "Those two were inseparable." She sighed and fidgeted a little in her seat. "When Eli started avoiding Liam, I knew something was wrong. Especially when Eli hit the books and his grades improved. He was always a smart boy and he always caught on to things quickly, but he wouldn't work as hard in school unless he was upset. I suppose it's an odd habit, how he would suppress his anger by doing his homework." Gillian turned to return to the table with the tea. Oddly enough, Andy looked more peaceful when she talked about the happier times. "Perhaps it was because it was the only thing that set those two apart. Liam wouldn't be caught dead studying." Gillian set the tea carefully on the table, wondering at this odd information. Eli had ended up a researcher and he constantly studied and learned new things; would that mean that he was still upset? Was he upset about Liam? Or was it something else?

"He was a sweet boy. If Liam wasn't with him, he'd hardly get into trouble at all." Andy chuckled. "But that was rare. I miss the days when Eli was happy."

"Is he unhappy?" Gillian asked, alarmed. She had never caught on if he truly was troubled. Perhaps he had mastered lying in the terms of keeping his problems to himself.

"He would never say it, but I know he is. Whenever Liam's name is mentioned, he gets quiet." Andy replied, sipping at her tea. She was still sniffling and teary, trying to hide her returning grief with the talk of sadder times. Her teacup shook in her hand, rippling the liquid. Gillian wanted to know more about Eli's secret feelings, concerned about it and the fact that she had never suspected it. But, right now, it wasn't the right time to discuss it with Andy. Andy needed to think of more positive times and find hope, rather than pile up her fears and sorrow in her mind.

"Tell me more about when your sons were young. I want to hear some good stories." Foster chuckled, a smile spreading across her face as she picked up her teacup.

Author's Note: Shmerr...I hope that was interesting. Please review!