I hope all you guys are well! Martin's POV again, but things are beginning to look up for the boys in this chapter...let's not get too used to it though, we all know how much angst they lend themselves to in fics!

Thank you all for your comments, encouragement and continued patience!

Martin stood in the lobby of the Hilton, awaiting the eventual arrival of the elevator. He needed to change his shirt- for one thing, the cuff was coffee-stained from his earlier run-in with the coffee maker. The taxi ride here had calmed him down, yet he felt more drained than he thought possible. Danny had that effect, he supposed. Or maybe it was honesty- something so foreign to him- that was really responsible for stealing his energy, leaving him emotionally fraught and physically exhausted.

"Matt!" That voice, enthusiastic and filled with hope, sent a wave of anxiety over Martin. Reluctantly, he turned to face an already-judging-Lucy. "Are you just getting in?" She asked, eyeing him up and down like she had never before seen somebody wear a shirt and trousers outside of church.

"I, um, went out for a...walk." It was a terrible lie, but it was much, much better than the truth: I went out to quit my job.

"Whatever. Aren't you coming to breakfast?"

Breakfast? Martin felt like it must be at least noon- it was almost as if he had been awake for hours. He had, of course, but it was one of those days when he was certain the minutes were dragging out, tortuous and agonising.

Lucy was doing it again- staring at him like she expected something from him, but he had no idea what it was, and he was far too tired to try to guess. "I-I already ate."

Another lie, but food was the last thing on his mind. Right now, the only activity that really appealed to him was a cold shower and some time alone to prepare for whatever his day with Pressler would demand.

Lucy frowned. "But we saved you a seat," she protested. "Everybody's waiting to find out how your dinner with Mr Pressler went!"

Re-hashing the previous night's events with a group of people who would most likely greet his horror at the treatment of the waiter with indifference did not appeal to Martin in the slightest. To add to that, he wasn't entirely sure just how well he would pretend to be one of them, especially now he had come so close to bailing on the group.

"I'll be sure to catch up with you guys later. I really need to get ready." Martin glanced pointedly at his watch, forcing a brief smile. "I'm late as it is." The elevator beeped, just the correct moment to save him, and he hurried inside before Lucy could plead further.

The doors closed painfully slowly, meaning Martin had no choice but to watch her expression change to one of disappointment. He felt his chest swell with the realisation that he had bluntly crushed whatever faith she had invested in him.

He had let her down, like everyone else on his ever-growing list. Yes, he felt guilty for rudely avoiding her, but who was he to give her advice on how to stand up to her father, when he was too much of a coward to be honest with his own?

The elevator doors had mercifully closed and the ride up to his floor was quick. He stepped out and headed towards his room, dragging his feet only slightly.

~.o0o.~

A few hours later, Martin found himself in the elevator again. As he stepped into the lobby, he spotted the exact people he wanted to avoid. To make matters worse, standing in the middle of the group, in faded blue jeans and a top that accentuated his muscular chest- not exactly matching the air of such a high-end hotel- the centre of attention as usual, was Danny Taylor.

Martin didn't feel angry though. His first thought was, I need to get out of here.

"Matthew!" Kevin called to him, Brooke waved him over, but neither Lucy nor Danny looked his way.

Obviously now he had been spotted, there was no way of ducking his head and hastily making his way outside. Instead, he shoved his hands deep in his trouser pockets so they wouldn't do anything crazy- like try to touch Danny- and made his way towards them. "Hey, guys."

"Your friend Leo just arrived to take over," Brooke informed him, a wide smile on face. "You're so modest, Matt! Why didn't you tell us you'd gotten a job working with Harry Pressler?"

Martin gritted his teeth. Leo?

"We're so proud of you!" Jesse cheered, and the younger boys clapped, earning a glare from the receptionist.

"What are we going to do without you?" Kevin asked, patting him on the back in congratulations.

Martin was blushing, but not a in a good way. He wasn't like Danny Taylor- he didn't enjoy having all eyes on him, rather, it made him uneasy. "You'll be fine. You have Leo now."

Danny didn't look at him. "Yeah. Hey, you guys mind if I have a moment alone with Matt?"

Lucy certainly didn't need to be asked twice, but Martin was aware that was probably more to do with him being so short with her earlier than anything else. The others filtered away, each taking turn to pat him on the shoulder and congratulate him as they passed.

When they were finally alone, Danny carefully raised his gaze to Martin. The electricity that passed between the two did not go unnoticed by either of them... but then Danny began to speak and it was as if the moment had not existed at all. "Listen, Matt, I know you don't want me here but-"

"-but what?"

"But...but I couldn't bear the thought of you being here with these horrible people and hearing all their toxic words; but I don't want you to be someone you're not without somebody who cares for you to pull you back when you're going over the edge and to remind you who you are and what's important in your life. I know you're stronger than anyone gives you credit for but that doesn't mean I won't worry about you!" Danny's voice got stronger and more powerful coming to the end of his rant- he was even blushing a little, something Danny Taylor did not do. Martin could feel the power and the allure in those words.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up on ends, his stomach flipped with the tentative excitement that Danny's promising words held. Before he knew it, Martin was smiling- surprised it didn't feel nearly as forced as the rest of his life had been of late. "I shouldn't have been so hard on you earlier; you were only trying to help."

"-And I know you probably resent me for it but-" Danny stopped mid-sentence, tripping over his excuses. "Wait, are you apologizing?"

"I'm saying I shouldn't have snapped at you," Martin admitted. "I was just...I-I have a lot going on right now."

"I know you do. And that's why I'm here- even if you don't want me to be, even if you think I'm doing this for all the wrong reasons," Danny said, shaking his head. "All I want is to help you."

It was yet another conversation between them that should have been about the case but wasn't. Right now, they both needed to be focused. They had a job to do, and their task of finding Fort went rings higher than whatever this misguided responsibility was that they currently had to each other.

"I have a security training afternoon with a company Pressler appointed," Martin explained, clearing his throat, sparing a quick glance in the direction of the others-huddled on the lobby sofas, laughing over some ridiculous newspaper article that Kevin was passing around. "I need you to keep an eye on them."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "You think one of them might have something to do with it?"

Martin wanted to say no, of course. During his time with them, he had quickly discovered bigoted beliefs did not necessarily make you a bad person. Lucy was to thank for this knowledge, of course. From her he'd learned that, however unjust they seemed, there were many reasons why people might be anti-gay. Because they didn't know they have the choice to think for themselves; because they had been educated only by religion; because they wanted revenge.

He had learned that although their words hurt, sometimes the hatred really wasn't all that personal.

Martin himself had been raised to think that homosexuality was wrong, a sin, and he had fallen back on these thoughts enough to know that it was nowhere near as black and white as outsiders thought. It was easy to say that you either accepted it or you didn't...but it was ten times harder to actually make that choice for yourself when you were being pulled in two different directions.

He also knew how easy it was to fall into the trap of seeing protests on TV and making judgements about the people involved. Not everyone who was against homosexual relationships were religious; not every person who protested spoke of hell and eternal damnation. The thing that newspapers, news channels, politicians, constantly forgot was that the people on both sides of the fence were still just people: they were teenagers like Lucy who were simply trying to please; they were young men like Chris and John, seeing to it that the group founded by their late father did not disappear, busying themselves with spreading a message they didn't really understand to avoid facing up to their grief; they were sweet couples like Jesse and Brooke, who had been taught that their inability to conceive a child must mean they weren't doing enough to serve God.

Regardless of the reason they were here, they were still human. Humans who made mistakes, who got things wrong, who were influenced by society, who were shaped by their experiences. If Martin had never met Danny Taylor, would he too be one of them-just one too cowardly to protest things like marriage bills and openly gay politicians?

He hoped not, but thankfully, he would never know. Still, when Martin looked at Chris and Jesse and Lucy he couldn't help but think: I could have been you.

With that in mind, he felt guilty considering they might have had a hand in what happened to Fort. Sure, they were misguided and intolerant, but that didn't mean they were kidnappers.

"I don't think so," Martin said, "but they might have information on another group who are involved."

Danny nodded. "Got it. Anything else?"

Martin glanced over his shoulder, making sure they weren't being listened to, thanking God that they weren't. "I'll probably be back late; I'm meeting with Pressler after the training. How about we re-group around 10 o'clock?"

Danny smirked. "Why, Matthew, are you inviting me to your hotel room?"

Martin felt a blush burn his cheeks. "I didn't mean it like that." Wanted to say what he really meant, I just need to be close to you, but couldn't conjure the words that wouldn't paint him in the most pathetic light.

"Room 401, right?"

Martin nodded. "Wait- how did you know that?"

"Hey, I do my research," Danny said smugly, and then he glanced over at the others. "I should go get to know them."

"Yeah," Martin agreed. "Pressler sent a car to pick me up, it's probably outside already."

Neither man made any effort to move.

Danny laughed first, and then Martin joined in, like just a few hours ago their friendship had not been well and truly changed forever; like they were not playing the parts of two people who were the antithesis to who they really were; like finding an innocent man alive was not seeming less and less likely with every second that passed.

As Martin forced himself to walk away, he was still smiling, the sweet sound of Danny's hopeful laughter enough to soothe the fear his mind for just a little longer.