Disclaimer: If I owned this I would be so goddam rich and this franchise would be known by more than 2 of my friends.

Author's Notes: Okay, so this has taken a while but I swear to God that this is worth it. This is draft number nine or twelve (can't remember which) and it kept failing. My bio buddy Lewis has been convincing me to get a move on because he wants to read it but won't until I've finished and I kinda promised it'd be completely done by now (but this isn't quite the end) but he's excited because every time I see him I'm like 'yeah it's working' or 'no, it's not'. Anyways I gotta go or this ain't gonna be done in time. Slight title change but it fits better. And thanks to reviewers and subscribers.

Chapter Thirteen: Revelations

Song: A Little Less Sixteen Candles A Little More Touch Me by Fall Out Boy

We all believe ourselves to be invincible. Each of us expects to be able to handle any hardship that life may throw at us. So when it comes to the simplest task; when it comes to actually asking others for help with what we think we ought to be able to handle; we avoid it at all costs. Sometimes the hardest thing that any one person can do is admit that they're only human. – Anon.

"Faker." There was a slight laugh and Riley kept praying that Ben would give up and go away. Things were still rocky between them and he really didn't want to face up to Ben right now. He really didn't. "Riley, I know you're awake."

Riley would have given anything for the hospital sheets to rise up and engulf him like some weird 80s sci-fi show but defiantly they stayed on the bed and they brushed against him as Ben sat down on the bed somewhere near his feet and took in a deep breath before slowly and carefully letting it out again.

"Look, I'm sorry." Oh no! It sounded as though he was planning on going into a long speech but Riley really didn't want to get into this now, like really, really didn't want to. Besides, his nose was starting to become really itchy and if he didn't scratch it soon he was going to go insane.

But Ben didn't say anything else. Instead there was silence. That wasn't expected; so much so that Riley almost opened his eyes to investigate before realising that would blow his cover which was probably Ben's plan.

"Glad to see you're alright, kid." He sounded sad. It's such a simple, small word and I wish I could go into more detail about the tone and style but there's little more I could say except that Ben sounded sad. He didn't sound distraught or upset; he didn't seem like he was angry or holding back tears; maybe there was a tiny hint of disappointment buried somewhere in there but really, he was just…sad.

There were ten more minutes of silence before Ben's weight lifted up off the end of the bed and there was a shuffling as the historian no doubt straightened himself out (or maybe waited to see if Riley would change his mind). Eventually there were footsteps leading to the foot of the bed where they hesitated for a moment before disappearing off.

Riley waited another five minutes before opening his eyes in case Ben decided to come back. Once they were open he glared after his friend.

There went a man who may…or may not…be his best friend; possibly the best friend he'd ever had…have, yet when he turned up at a hospital to see if he was alright Riley'd blanked him; shut him out. Riley wasn't entirely sure why he'd done it, it was just easier to not have to face it yet; taking things one thing at a time was going to be difficult enough but it'd be better than everything at once especially once Ben got involved. Still…

Riley sighed, closing his eyes and a single solitary tear that he'd been unaware was building up, broke free and made its way down his cheek where it clung to his chin for a few moments before plopping onto the bed sheet beneath him.

I hate my life.

There wasn't any major damage. Severe bruising, fractured rib, minor concussion, fractured leg; nothing life-threatening. All he needed was a bit of time to rest and the damage would soon heal up.

Except Riley knew it wasn't that simple. Sure the physical damage would go away eventually but the stonking great mess of memories and forgotten feelings of fear needed sorting out; except he didn't want to face it any time soon, no thank you. Thing was, it wasn't something that was going to go away when it was ignored, like Ben; it sat there like a huge weight on his chest, but that could just have been some sort of phantom weight brought about by the bruising. Whichever way he was aware of it, the mess was always there, taunting him with what he'd always known but never remembered.

Knowing it was there was enough to put him on the verge of tears every single moment he was awake.

Joe was there too. He'd probably be there as constantly as the mess if the hospital staff didn't bundle him out of the building every evening and more or less order him to have some semblance of a normal life. Otherwise, for as long as permitted, Riley's brother was sat on the only chair next to his hospital bed; most of the time he'd slouch in the chair and talk nonchalantly about Mary and Pam or how he'd had to order Annie to not get on the next plane from Spain after calling her to let her know what was going on or how his next door neighbour Mrs. Dodie sent her regards, despite never having met Riley.

From the description Joe was giving of how she was normally, old, irritable and difficult, it sounded like she would be a perfect match for Mr. Chesney; they should set them up on a date or something. Normally he would have pointed this out but he didn't feel up to hearing Joe's fake laugh again; his brother's fake laugh which he used when his mind was truthfully distracted from the hilarity at hand and caught up in something more serious; a throaty chortle that could be mistaken for a real laugh if you're not paying attention. Most older siblings have one they use around the younger ones so they don't know when something's wrong…until they figure it out themselves; then it's like sounding a klaxon around them; they know something's wrong.

Riley knew Joe was worried for him, he'd heard him mention it to the nurses enough times, and knowing that just added to the mess. But the worst of it was when Riley's brother thought he was asleep and let his elbows rest on his knees, his face fall into his hands and the tears flow down his arms. Every once in a while a cry would start before being quickly stifled and swallowed back; the sobs never escaped, carefully controlled to prevent them from 'waking' Riley.

That was partly why Riley didn't like the sedatives the doctors were giving him. That and when they wore off basically every part of him started to hurt like a bitch and until they shot him up with them again he had to go on through the pain, the mess and the tears.

It really did suck to be him.

It was about two and a half weeks before Riley was given the all clear to leave the hospital. The immediate dangers were gone and he was all but completely healed. The bruises hadn't completely gone but they'd faded to a kind of yellowy-brown that didn't look healthy but certainly looked healthier than they had before, and it felt like he'd pulled a few muscles but otherwise they were harmless.

Joe had offered several times to set him up in the spare room for a while but Riley just wanted to be alone for now. But of course, as pretty much everyone knows, what one wants and what one gets are two completely different things.

Pulling up opposite his apartment block again, he turned the engine off and took out the keys. He didn't make any move to get out though, instead gazing up at the building. Despite having lived there for some years now, it's hard to remember how many really but it had been a fair few, he didn't know which window was his. It was something he'd have to find out.

Walking up the stairs, he rifled through his pockets for the apartment key. Where was it? Old pack of gum; piece of lint, how'd those get in pockets anyway; seventeen cents in change; he wouldn't put it past Joe to steal his keys so he had to stay with his brother; no wait. Triumphantly he pulled them from his pocket as he approached the door. Score one for Riley.

Entering his apartment was amazing; it just felt good to be somewhere familiar and safe. He was all for hospitals being a place of healing but they were so impersonal and formal. Okay so the less-than-hygienic confines of Riley's apartment would probably make him more ill but at least it was more homely and lived-in. He may suffer but at least he would suffer in comfort. Mind you he'd prefer it if he didn't suffer at all.

Three steps into the apartment and he stopped in his tracks. Ben was sat on his couch, looking over his shoulder at him with a slight smile.

"Hey Riley." Riley furrowed his brow.

"How'd you get in?"

"Same way I got in last time. I have a key." Duh! Of course!

"That's for emergencies." Ben paused in thought for a moment before nodding.

"I think my actions were justified."

"Sure, Ben." He started to roll his eyes but closed them. "Whatever." He shuffled into the bedroom. Clean clothes were a good idea; he was still wearing Joe's shirt and his sweats and although they weren't covered in blood or anything particularly nasty, the prospect of wearing something new had a great appeal to him. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I thought you might not want to come back to an alcohol-smelling apartment." Riley eyed the freshly made bed and the distinct lack of Riley type mess clogging up the floor disbelievingly.

"Sure." Riley shook his head; Ben had cleaned up a bit more than the smell of alcohol. He opened a drawer and pulled out the nearest shirt to hand and dragged a pair of jeans out of another drawer before pulling them on. "What else?" Walking back into the living room he took a deep breath, it was nice to be home.

"I'm not allowed to visit my friend after he's been discharged from hospital?"

Riley opened his mouth to say something that would no doubt have been wonderfully witty yet at the same time unbelievably annoying but the comment died in his throat. "What happened to your face?"

"Charming, Riley. As always." Ben shifted uncomfortably and Riley could tell Ben was avoiding the question; he'd done enough times to recognise the signs.

"Seriously, Ben. Have you seen yourself?" On the right side of his face there was a large bruise developing across most of the cheek and his eye was slightly swollen. "What the hell happened?"

"It's nothing. I fell." Riley snorted and raised an eyebrow. He didn't believe that for a second and Ben knew it too but the historian just shrugged at him. "I got into a bit of a fight, that's all."

"With what? A Buick?"

"Geez, is it really that bad?" he laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck while sheepishly gazing at the floor.

"No." It didn't actually; the swelling wasn't too bad and the bruise was only a slight purple and didn't seem too bad, almost like he'd just caught the sun or something. "It was just a bit of a shock, you know." Whatever it was that had happened, Ben really didn't seem to want to talk about it. "Did you win?"

"What?"

"The fight. Did you win?"

Ben's eyes scanned the ceiling and Riley resisted the urge to look up and see if the answer was written up there. "I guess not. No."

"It was with Joe wasn't it."

Ben looked at him confused. "I don't-"

"I overheard him complaining to the nurses about letting you visit me." The historian smiled sadly. "Thing is Joe's a mellow kinda guy. You must've really pissed him off."

"To put it mildly."

Riley looked at his friend. Since he'd arrived in the apartment Ben had yet to make eye contact with him and it was unnerving. Why wasn't Ben looking at him? He was supposed to be the one who was emotionally distraught.

"Why'd he do it?"

"It doesn't matter." He waved it away with a flick of his hand. "What does matter is that he missed."

"Really?" His eyebrows rose in shock as Ben nodded. "That's not like Joe."

"He said he was going to break my nose." He tapped just below his right eye where the centre of the bruise was. "Hit here instead."

"Whoa. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Anyway, that's not why I'm here."

Riley groaned inwardly. Ben was going to try and make this into a heart-to-heart wasn't he? He was going to try and get Riley to talk about what was going on but he'd only just started to forget about it. Why couldn't he just leave it alone?

Ben watched as the kid's face fell from semi-happiness to downright despair. He didn't need to be Abigail to know what was going to come out of the kid's mouth next.

"Look, Ben. I get that you want to be there for me and that, and I really do appreciate it, but can't we leave this talk for some other time."

"Okay."

"I mean, I just got of hospital and- wait. What did you say?"

"I said 'okay'." Riley stared at him in disbelief. "I'm only here because I thought you'd want to know that Damon Scott was arrested last week."

"Who?"

"Damon Scott. He's an alcoholic who used to beat his wife and was the prime-suspect in the kidnap of his son." Riley failed to see why he would want to know that and shrugged at Ben who paused. "His son who was named Thomas Scott."

Riley's brow furrowed in disbelief for a moment and he paused in hesitation before he spoke. "…No way." Ben quietly smirked as he nodded, carefully assessing every emotion that crossed the kid's face. Some of them were passing by too quickly for Ben to try and figure them out but the one he noticed the most was a cross between confusion and what he hoped was some sort of relief.

Ben shrugged dismissively when Riley finally managed to settle his gaze on him. "Not just an article."

"I mean…I-I-I-I mean that…Y-Y-Y-You didn't…Wha-What I mean is…" Riley closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "…Arrested?"

"Several charges of assault, two counts of kidnap and two of murder."

"…right." He nodded with his eyes still closed and tilted his head to the side. "Two murders?"

"His son and the guy in the alleyway."

"Oh yeah." Riley let out a high-pitched nervous laugh which to be honest was a little creepy. In fact he still hadn't opened his eyes and was starting to sway on the spot.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah I'm-I'm-I'm good." He nodded but nearly fell over as the movement made him sway more. "Should probably sit down though." Ben grabbed Riley's shoulder and steered him towards a dining chair before the kid fell to the floor.

"Just remember to breathe."

"That would be helpful."

For a few minutes Ben stood just behind Riley keeping one hand on the kid's shoulder as he drew in long and slightly shaky breaths. Truthfully the historian wanted to do more for his friend but wasn't quite sure where the two of them stood. Riley had been confused when they'd had their argument and at the time he'd just dismissed it as that; confusion; but Ben'd had time to think it over and there'd actually been a lot of truth in what he'd said. Thinking about it, it's a wonder Riley never mentioned it before; maybe not as a big rant because that wasn't Riley's style but surely it would've come out as some sort of moan or whine or complaint.

"Well er…that's what I came to say." He patted Riley on the shoulder before slowly making his way to the door. "I'll just-"

"Oh my God." Riley jerked round suddenly until he was facing Ben with a look of horror on his face. "Your car!"

"What?"

"I stole your car. Oh my God, Ben. I stole your car."

"You just borrowed it." Ben shrugged. He'd got a rental, sick of being ferried around by Abigail almost immediately. Besides, it's not like he couldn't afford it. "It's no big deal."

"It's still at Joe's." he took a deep shaky breath. "Ben, I am so sorry. I'll bring it round tomorrow."

"No, really it's fine."

"I mean, it's not like you can get it, Joe'll probably try to hit you again."

"Riley!" the kid jumped slightly but Ben didn't regret it; he was starting to get hysterical and was only going to end up making himself sick. "Seriously. Don't worry about it."

"Right." Ben watched as Riley looked at him intently before nodding and then closing his eyes again. "Okay." He took in another deep breath. "Not worrying. Check."

"And you're still breathing." He shrugged offering his hands up in the air to show the light-hearted nature of what he was saying.

"More's the wonder." Riley laughed and Ben saw him smile, and I mean an actual genuine smile not one of those fake forced ones he'd seen when they'd first started this conversation. And although Ben didn't know it, it was the first smile in a long time that Riley had actually felt. "Thanks for breaking into my apartment to tell me this Ben."

Ben laughed. That was probably the most Riley thing he'd heard the kid say since this whole nightmare had begun.

"Look," Riley stood up and turned to Ben. He had to nip the possible interrogation in the bud or it wouldn't stop, "I know you've probably got a lot of questions, but I really-"

"D'you still have my cell number?"

"What?" the question caught Riley off-guard and Ben just raised his eyebrows at him. "Er, yeah."

"You feel the urge, day or night, just ring that number."

"Are you sure about that?" Ben nodded with quiet confidence. "So even if it's three in the morning…?"

Ben paused in thought for a moment and Riley thought maybe the guy would reconsider his offer. "I'm not saying I'll be happy…but sure. Even at three in the morning."

Riley felt his mouth stretch into a smile again. "Thanks, Ben." Ben returned the smile before looking at his watch.

"Geez. I better go." He headed to the door. "I told Abigail I was popping out to get the milk and that was five hours ago."

"You've been in my apartment for five hours?" Riley wasn't sure whether he saw that as an invasion of his privacy or a sign of friendship. Oh God! He hoped it wasn't an expression of guilt after their big argument.

Ben just smiled as he left. "Riley, you are so gullible."