His eyes flittered back and forth between the door and the book he was supposed to be reading. He couldn't help it, any time was too much time for Noah to be gone, and he couldn't help but think of the last time. He knew he shouldn't' be worried, Noah was walking…he wasn't driving and the weather was ten times nicer than it had been on that fateful day. He frowned, trying to concentrate on the words but he kept reading the same line over and over. His eyes flicked to the clock and his stomach began to twist in knots. Was the clock right? Had thirty minutes passed already? Noah had said he'd be right back…where did he go? Why did he go? Why did he have to leave just after they came home?

He shouldn't be thinking the worst, and it wasn't as if this were déjà vu. James was with him…sitting in the chair beside him looking at a magazine. HE seemed so calm. Luke wanted to be that calm. HE wanted to trust that Noah would be okay.

"You know, you aren't doing yourself any favors by worrying." James looked up from his paper and focused on Luke. "You need to relax or you won't be here when Noah gets back. You'll be in the hospital again and he'll be upset with both of us."

"I'm sorry, James, I just don't like it when he goes off without me knowing where he is going, or who he's with. This is the first time in a while that he's been anywhere without me or something close to us being with him."

"But he's walked to therapy sessions before right? And he had to go to work without you that one day. You're being paranoid, and I think you know that."

Luke bit his lip, he knew James was right, but he couldn't stop the panic. He couldn't stop the churning in his stomach. This reminded him too much of Christmas Eve. Just when things were getting back on track, and they were somewhat back to normal…that was when the accident had happened. Noah had been gone for hours and then he had gotten the phone call and if that happened again he didn't think his heart could take it.

The sound of the phone made him jump and even James was startled by the strangled scream that left his lips. James placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him, even as he reached for the telephone. "Hello? Oh hi Mr. Snyder. Yeah, hold on. Calm down, it's your dad," he whispered to Luke before handing him the telephone.

"Hi Dad," Luke said his voice sounding a little strained.

"What's the matter son? Did something happen?"

"Oh, no nothing's wrong…I just don't know where Noah is. No big deal," he said a little unconvincingly.

"Noah's not there? Where did he go?"

"I don't know," Luke said not able to hide the frantic pace in his voice. "I told him to walk…so I think he did that. But I don't know where he is."

"I'm sure he's okay, son. You have to calm down. You can't freak out every time Noah leaves the house…even though I know that scares you. HE's been up and about for months now."

"Just two," Luke said his voice soft as he tried to calm his nerves.

"And in those two months, he has walked to and from his therapy sessions and he has learned to follow your instructions about everything. Relax okay; I don't want you to end up back in the hospital. Noah loves you, and I'm sure he has a very good reason for being gone right now. He'll be back. Are you alright, besides that? Did James get you settled in okay?"

"Yes Dad. We've only been home for just under an hour and Noah left right after we got here." Even as he spoke his eyes once more moved to the door. James put his magazine down and went to the kitchen. He returned minutes later with a cup of tea. HE took the phone from Luke's trembling hands and replaced it with the cup.

"Drink this, and calm down. "Mr. Snyder," he said into the phone. "Don't worry, I'll watch him until Noah gets back. I'm not sure where he went, but he seemed really irritated by the call."

"Hmmmm that doesn't sound promising James," Holden sighed. "Okay I'll check in later. And if Noah doesn't come back soon, try his cell phone."

"I was going to do that. I'll let you know when he gets back. Bye sir."

Luke was sipping on his tea as James hung up the phone. It didn't go unnoticed by James that his eyes once more went to the door. He decided it was time to distract Luke until Noah returned.

"Okay Luke, focus on me for a minute here. Do you have any questions that you want answered?"

Luke looked down into his tea cup and took another sip before turning his attention to James. "It's okay James; you don't have to try to distract me. I just want Noah to come home."

"This better be important," he said as he took a seat and placed a cup of coffee on the table. "Luke's waiting for me at home, and I know he's going to worry. So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"How is he?"

Noah furrowed his brow and fiddled with his cup. He already wasn't amused. "He's exhausted, but I think he will be okay. They drew blood before he was released, and I think he's going to fight exhaustion until I get back." He took a sip of his coffee and rested his elbow on the table, his chin resting in his hand. "You said you wanted to talk to me about Luke. Not ask questions. What do you want?"

"I want to see him. Is that too much to ask?"

"Please tell me you did not call me just to ask me if you could see Luke," Noah said incredulously. "Seriously?"

"It was the only thing I knew to do. You would have thrown me out if I had come to the house."

Noah sighed. "This is not my decision to make," he insisted. "And I am very put off by you calling me out here for this. Did you forget that I was in a car accident?"

"What does that have to do with anything, Noah? Why are you thinking about yourself at a time like this?"

"Why are YOU thinking about yourself," Noah said getting angry with every word. "You called me and asked me to come out here to see you, when my husband…your son, is sitting at home probably freaking out because I'm not there. Do you know anything about how he felt that night? On Christmas Eve when I didn't come home. Can you imagine how scared he was? He just asked me not to drive. But I don't guess that you care."

"I didn't realize your accident hit him so hard. But you shouldn't judge me, Noah. That's not fair."

"I can admit that I don't remember my encounters with you, Lily," Noah conceded. "But I do know how Luke has felt since I came out of my coma. I've seen Luke's pain and his anger. I've seen how hurt he's been by your actions and let's not forget the reason he was in the hospital at all. What you did on that stand, Lily was unforgivable in my opinion, but I'm not Luke. He will decide how he feels about you, and he will do it on his time, not yours."

"You can get my son to do anything, Noah."

"If you really think that, Ms. Walsh then you don't know your son very well at all. Now unless you have something serious to talk to me about, I have to get back to Luke."

"Noah wait," she said reaching out to grab his arm to prevent him from standing. "I just want to see him. I know I screwed up. And I know that I needed to stay away from the hospital. But he's out now, and he doesn't need a baby sitter. You can sit and talk to me for a few minutes so we can set something up. Please. If you could just plead my case for me. You wouldn't want him to miss out on having a mother like you did, do you."

"How dare you," Noah ripped his arm out of her grasped and glared daggers in her direction. Lily had the good taste to at least squirm under that gaze. "You don't know anything about me, or my life and you have no right to throw that in my face, none. If Luke chooses to forgive you then I will stand by him on that. But it will be his decision. I won't manipulate him, and I won't let you manipulate me. I am very upset with you right now for taking me away from Luke for your petty needs."

"I don't see anything petty about wanting to see my son," Lily argued. "I want to see him and you are keeping me away from him. In the hospital that's one thing but I won't let it happen now that he is home."

HE JUST CAME HOME TODAY," Noah exclaimed. "Just thirty minutes ago and you called me away from him immediately. And right now I can't worry about you missing him, or any such nonsense as that. I have to focus on him, because I actually care about his mental state."

"I'm sorry Noah." Her words hit him as he walked away, and he sighed. He turned to face her, her eyes were downcast and her lips were set in a frown. She actually looked sad, and he felt bad that he felt no sympathy for her at the moment.

"Yeah, so am I. If Luke wants to talk to you, he knows how to reach you…and you know where we live. Good bye, Lily."

James frowned as his eyes landed on the clock one more time. He was certain Noah was okay; in fact he knew he was. Those words weren't very comforting for Luke though. He was still looking at the door, still jumping every time the phone rang and checking his cell phone as if he expected to see a missed call or a text message from his husband. James had taken the phone away from him after awhile to keep him from opening and closing it. He was about ready to call Noah himself when he heard the key in the lock.

"Noah," Luke said jumping up and running straight into Noah before he could even enter the house. "Oh thank god you came back."

"Luke," Noah said hugging him back as he locked eyes with James. "What's wrong?" HE somehow managed to pull Luke away enough to wrap his arm around him so he could enter the house and close the door."Is everything okay?"

"I was just worried," Luke explained. "You were gone for so long and I know that's crazy and I shouldn't be worried but the last time…."

"Hey," Noah said cupping his face in his hands. "It's alright, Luke. I'm here now, okay. I'm sorry I was gone so long, but I'm here now. And I walked just like I told you I would."

"I know," Luke said frowning. "James has been trying to tell me the same thing. He even took my phone away."

Noah looked at James who held up the coveted phone. "I didn't want him to break it," he sheepishly.

"I'm sorry I worried you both." Noah said turning his attention back to Luke.

"IT's okay. Where were you?"

Noah pursed his lips. He didn't want to tell Luke where he was, but he knew he had to. "I was with your mother."

"What?"

"Your Mother called, and said that she wanted to talk to me now about you," Noah explained.

"Why?" Luke asked and Noah winced at the harshness in his voice.

"It's not important Luke. I told her no and came right back home."

"Noah, I know I just came home from the hospital...but I promise you I am not going to break. What did she want?"

"She wanted me to convince you to talk to her."

"And she had to do that today?" Luke said incredulously.

Noah frowned. "I'm sorry Luke. I know you're mad. She made it sound urgent and I didn't' think I was going to be gone that long. I ended up getting into an argument with her though because she brought up how I didn't have a mother and that was why I should talk to you about her because I wouldn't' want you to end up that way."

"Oh Noah, tell me she didn't say that to you?" Luke was appalled that those words would have come out of his mother's mouth. It wasn't right for her to use Noah's pain for her own gain.

"I'm sorry Luke, maybe I'm being disrespectful but your mother can be a real bitch sometimes."

Even James was startled to hear those words come out of Noah's mouth. He figured that Ms. Walsh must have really made him angry. Luke sighed and placed a hand on Noah's cheek.

"I'm not mad at you, not in the least. I am angry at her though. I just don't think I can deal with her today."

"Did you decide what you want to do about her," James asked.

""Yeah, I made the best decision for me." Luke bit his lip and slipped deeper into Noah's arms. Noah gladly welcomed the embrace and held Luke close. "Right now I just want to sit here and relax." Luke's voice was muffled by Noah's shirt, but James and Noah got the gist of what he was saying.

"I'm going to head on home then," James said getting up from his seat. "I'm glad you're home Luke."

Luke wriggled out of Noah's embrace Long enough to hold his arms out for a hug which James gladly gave him. "I'll see you tomorrow, James…and thanks."

"That's what brothers are for," James said as Luke settled back into Noah's arms. "Take care of him, Noah."

Noah shared a hug with James too before he let himself out of the apartment. Finally they were alone, and Noah pulled Luke closer. He could feel the other man shaking, and when he looked down he saw a smile on Luke's face. He was trembling with laughter. "You want to fill me in on the joke," he asked, a smile slipping across his face too.

"You….You called my mother a bitch," Luke chuckled. Noah attempted to be serious but Luke's laugher was contagious and his shoulders begin to shake with mirth. It didn't' take long for him to burst into full unabashed giggles. It was a good ten minutes before they calmed down again, and Luke tried to catch his breath as he snuggled closer to his husband. "I'm sorry, Noah."

"For what?"

"For my mother using you like that. She had no right using your past against you like that."

"Its okay, Luke. No worries."

"But I do worry," Luke said sitting up and facing his husband head on. "And it's not right. She shouldn't have done that."

"Well that's nothing really, compared to what she did in court," Noah pointed out.

Luke shook his head. "Can you tell me about the rest of the trial?"

"Are you sure you want to hear?" Noah asked. "It wasn't very pretty Luke. And I ended up reaming out your mother a few times in court."

"That Mayer temper showed itself and I missed it," Luke said softly. "I want to heart Noah. I know I might not like it…in fact I'm sure I'll hate it. But I want to know. And I'm…"

"You have no reason to apologize to me, or anyone else," Noah said pressing a finger against his lips. "And I'll tell you anything you want to know. You know that."

Luke kissed the finger before taking Noah's hand into his. "I just want to know what I have missed in the last two weeks. It's Tuesday isn't it?" Noah nodded and Luke smiled. "IF I wasn't so weak I'd suggest we cook together," He smiled."

"Maybe on Thursday," Noah said resting his forehead against Luke's. He leaned in to kiss him softly, and it didn't take long for the kiss to deepen and Luke moaned contentedly.

"I missed you," he muttered against his husband's lips."

"The feelings mutual," Noah said stealing one more kiss before he pulled away completely. "There is so much that I have to tell you though, and I think we should talk over dinner. I want you to eat, and I won't take no for an answer MR. Both of us need to take extra care of ourselves now, so we can stay healthy."

"It still blows me away that you did this for me."

"I'd do anything for you, Luke. I was so scared when you fell that day. I couldn't feel your pulse and I was so mad, at your mother and at myself for not doing what needed to be done to protect you."

"It's not your fault that I fell, Noah. I haven't been taking care of myself these past few months and I guess hearing my mother say those on the stand just sent me over the edge."

"You were under a lot of stress.

"Yeah I was, and if you apologize for that one more time, Noah Mayer I swear."

"You swear what," Noah laughed as he took Luke's hands into his. His expression turned serious as he kissed his husband's knuckles. "I propose that we don't apologize to each other. I mean doesn't love mean never having to say you're sorry?"

"You closet romantic," Luke laughed. "I'll never forget the day I found out you actually watched Love Story!"

Noah smiled. "I don't remember that particular moment, but I saw the book on your bookshelf and I read it."

Luke's laughter was rich and full and Noah blushed three shades of red. "You are such a dork, and I love you."

Noah kissed him again, and held him close for a long moment. It was nice to be here like this he had missed having Luke close and all he really wanted to do was revel in the sweet moments. He didn't want to shatter Luke's calm but he knew that he had to. He had so much he needed to tell him, and he didn't want to risk Luke finding any of it out from any other source.

"Come on," he said pulling away, and lifting himself and Luke off the couch. "We're going to cook and then we need to have a long talk."

"Something tells me I'm not going to like it," Luke commented as they made their way through the apartment to the kitchen.

"Probably not, but you need to know."

It didn't take long for their dinner to be ready. Spaghetti and meatballs, smothered in a Jar of Emma's special sauce. Noah poured them each a glass of white grape juice and settled down into his seat. Luke pulled the garlic bread out of the oven and brought a slice over to the table for him and Noah. He took his seat as well and they smiled at each other before digging into their spaghetti.

"So, you said you have a lot to tell me," Luke said after a few minutes of silence. He twirled his spaghetti around his fork and took a bite, getting a little bit of sauce on his chin as he did so.

"You're making a mess," Noah replied as he reached over to wipe away the sauce. "I do have a lot to say, Luke. I'm just not sure where to start."

Luke picked up his garlic bread and took a bite. HE closed his eyes as he chewed, savoring the buttery garlic flavor. Noah focused on his own food as he watched his husband eat. He knew others would think it was weird, but he loved to watch Luke's reactions to his food. IT was almost orgasmic. When he licked his fingers Noah's heartbeat quickened and he wondered if Luke was doing it on purpose. He reached across the table and took a hold of Luke's arm pulling his hand away from his face.

"What?" his husband asked innocently.

"You are being mean," Noah said pointedly.

Luke looked at his fingers and smiled before wriggling out of Noah's grasp. "I'm sorry, baby. He leaned forward to kiss Noah gently. "Why don't you start at the beginning and tell me what you need to. I'll be an attentive listener, I promise."

Noah looked down at his food, twirling the spaghetti with his fork as he tried to figure out the best way to start. Luke was right, they needed to start at the beginning, and he just needed to be straight forward and honest, and he needed to focus. He reached out to take Luke's free hand and allowed his thumb to caress it softly.

"They adjourned court for the day, but James convinced me that we just needed to continue the case. We wanted to get it over with for your sake, so the next day James and I were in court with Tom, and we got to hear the rest of your mom's testimony."

"Was it bad?"

"Well, she pretty much accused you of cheating on me," Noah admitted softly. "She was saying a lot of awful things, and I even got up and called her a liar. But then Tom got her to admit that she was being blackmailed."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. Tom asked her if she bailed Randy out because he and Mr. Simpson threatened to share secrets about her and Dusty. Mr. Simpson tried to object to the question, but Judge Newcomb wanted to know the answer. So she had to admit it."

"Oh wow. That figures."

Noah recognized the tone in his husband's voice and it made him frown. He didn't have to ask him what he was thinking. He couldn't even say the thought hadn't occurred to him. Once again Lily had put herself first. He squeezed Luke's hand encouragingly and continued with his story.

"Tom suggested that we end court early that day, and the Judge agreed. James insisted that I go home, l even though I wanted to go to the hospital to sit with you."

"I'll have to thank him for taking care of you."

"That's what brothers are for," Noah said as he continued to graze Luke's hand with his thumb. "I decided I was going to work on my memory exercises, since I wanted to do something that would help you. Remember the bag of triggers?"

"Yeah, you carry that bag with you everywhere."

Noah nodded. "Well, I picked it up that day, and I was looking for the script I'd been reading. I didn't find that…but I found a tape with no label."

Luke frowned. He wasn't sure where Noah was going with this, but he didn't' think he was going to like it. "Okay…I don't understand."

"I watched the tape. And when it started it looked like a movie…but I had thought the director made an odd choice in how to shoot it."

"Noah…"

"It was shot from the ceiling and you were the subject of the tape."

"Me?" Luke frowned. "Where…where did this tape come from?"

"It came from the studio, Luke."

His breath caught and he bit his lip. No it couldn't be what he was thinking. There was no way that was possible right? Surely the tape was just one of the ones that Noah had recorded over the summer, and it just got misplaced. That had to be it. "And…when did you find this tape, Noah."

"A month ago…in Greg's office." The color drained from Luke's face, and Noah squeezed his hand tighter, trying to send some level of reassurance his way. He swallowed knowing he needed to continue. Luke needed to know the whole story. "The tape was dated November 21, 2007, and it clearly showed you sitting at the desk working on something."

Luke began to tremble despite his best efforts to sit still. This just wasn't happening. He kept pleading with some higher power to make it go away. He was not hearing these words out of Noah's mouth…and Noah was not describing that night to him it just wasn't possible.

"And then Randy came in….and after he hugged you, I started to realize what I was watching." His eyes met Luke's head on; wanting to make sure his husband understood what he was going to say next.

"I couldn't stop."

Luke bit down on his lip so hard that he drew blood. HE swallowed and forced himself to keep his eyes on Noah. The trembling seemed to get worse, but he was ignoring that at the moment. The only thought running through his mind was that Noah had seen. Noah had witnessed his greatest shame. He had lived the horror…what he had wanted no one to see. He chewed on his lip and tried unsuccessfully to pull his hand away from Noah. That gaze was intense, and there was nothing to fear from it…he knew that.

"You….you saw it?"

"Yes Luke, I saw it," he said keeping his voice gentle, "all of it, and it broke my heart. I could see the fear in your eyes, and the terror on your face."

For the longest time he said nothing. He was trying to get his breathing and the trembling under control. Having a panic attack seemed like overkill and he could control it. He needed to control it. "Oh my god…Noah I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm sorry." He didn't even notice the tears until they wet his cheeks. He couldn't believe his husband had to watch that. "You…I'm sorry you had to see that."

Noah reached across the table to wipe the tears from his Husband's eyes. "Don't be sorry, Luke. You don't ever have to apologize to me. I wish I could have protected you from it," he admitted sadly. "And I wish I could make it go away, but I can't do that." He cupped Luke's face gently and made sure the blond was looking him straight in the eye. "What I can do is be here for you now, and tell you over and over that I love you. Randy didn't win, Luke. He'll never win. We won't let him."

"You'll have to tell me that from time to time," Luke said, as he tried to regain his composure. "I must come off as a big baby, and I'm sorry. It's just that I didn't want you to go through that. No one should have to go through that."

"You shouldn't have had to go through it either," Noah pointed out. "And if I hadn't been such an idiot that night, you would have never gone to the studio. I bear as much blame for what happened as Randy does."

"NO you don't," Luke said adamantly. "You are not to blame for his actions Noah. And I am not going to let you sit here and blame yourself for that."

"But Luke, don't you understand? IT was my actions that sent you there and while I may not have been the one to physically hurt you, if I had done what you asked me to do, you would never have been in a position for that to happen to you."

"It's my fault, Noah. I'm the one who didn't listen to your concerns about Randy. I'm the one who tried to be his friend, and I'm the one who was too stubborn to just tell you why I was upset. I expected you to know, and when you accused me of cheating with him I should have just stayed and hashed it out with you. That's all on me, not you. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I did do something wrong. I threw an accusation in your face that I knew would hurt you, and then wasn't there to protect you from that …that barbarian, when you needed me."

"Noah…"

"No, I should have been there, Luke. I should have realized there was something wrong. I may still have gaps in my memory, but I know that I loved you intensely and I should have realized long before I did that something was very very wrong. I feel like I have failed you as a husband terribly."

"I'm not blaming you for me being stupid." Luke said plainly. "IT's not your fault that I am blind, and truthfully, Noah you are the best husband ever. That was why I was scared to tell you. Don't you see? He made me feel dirty. He made me feel like I didn't deserve you at all, and I felt like…I felt like trash, and yet all I could think about was you. If not for you I would have gone a little crazy, and I know you don't remember, but I'm sorry for the weeks of hell I put you through."

"So, where do we go from here, Luke?" Noah asked, his finger lightly brushing the hand he still held. "I love you. Do we accept that we both made mistakes and move on? I'm not sure what I am supposed to do here, but I'm glad you're here and awake to help me figure it out."

A sad smile crossed Luke's Lips and he leaned forward to share a brief kiss with his husband. "I'm sorry; I did kind throw you off track there. You were telling me your story. Can you tell me the rest?"

"Well, James saw the tape too, but not a lot of it. He's the one who turned it off and the big thing is that while the tape played, I remembered things."

"Well I'm glad something good came out of that damn tape," Luke tried to find the humor in the situation, but it was really hard. James had seen the tape too? "I'll let you tell me about the memories in a second…but I need to know. How many people saw that tape?"

"The tape was the last piece of evidence showed in court the next day. And I was back on the witness stand."

"Thanks to the new memories?"

"Yeah, that was part of it. Mr. Simpson tried to have the tape dismissed as evidence, because he claimed it was illegal, but it was obvious that the tape was from that night. The court room was closed, so besides Mr. Simpson, Randy, Tom and myself, the only other people who saw the tape were James and the Jurors."

"That sounds like some crazy rock band," Luke quipped as he closed his eyes. IT seemed to him that too many people had seen the humiliation he had suffered that night…but he could get past that. Randy was in jail now…that was the important thing.

"Luke…I remember what he said that night."

"What who said," Luke asked frowning.

"Randy…I remember why I hit him…and I don't know if I want to tell you what he said or not."

It was Luke's turn to reach up, his free hand stroking his husband's cheek lovingly. "Tell me, Noah. What did he say that upset you so much that night?"

"Well he had been making comments all night, you knew that…he made that crack about dessert and even before you came out the shower he asked if there was trouble because I wasn't showering with you."

Luke frowned. He did remember Randy being very inappropriate. HE hadn't realized it started even before the party began though. "Go on, Noah. Tell me the rest."

"While you were in the kitchen with James, he…he called you a cock tease," Noah said keeping his voice low. "And I told him he needed to stop. He just kept making comment, after comment after comment. And then he it, the final thing that made me snap."

"Tell me."

Noah swallowed and locked his gaze with his husband's. "HE said that you should be pinned to the floor…and fucked continuously until you learned your lesson."

He could see the rage in those blue eyes, and he was acutely aware of his own rage mixed with horror. He didn't know what was worse; the fact that Randy had the nerve to say that to Noah, or the fact that it was indeed what happened. He shuddered just thinking about it. He left his seat, and slid into his husband's lap, wrapping his arms around his neck. Their foreheads were touching and their lips were inches apart.

"You had every reason to hit him. I thought that then, and I know it now. Thank you for defending me."

Noah closed the distance between them and they shared a soft but sensual kiss. He moaned when the kiss ended and was reluctant to move his forehead away from Luke's. "There's more."

"More?" Luke said pulling away just enough to look into his husband's sapphire eyes."

"Yeah…I want to tell you why the tape was in my bag and what I remembered that day. And I know that you aren't going to like this so I'm not going to beat around the bush with it. I found the tape just lying on the table in Greg's office. It had no label which was why I brought it home. And Randy was in the room."

"What was Randy doing in the security office?"

"That was my question too, since he should have been in court with you. Now I know he was there switching the tapes…but that's not even the important part Luke. I remember who hit me."

"You remember the accident?" Noah nodded his expression sad. "Noah tell me."

"Randy grabbed me when I tried to get away from him, and I remembered that he was there that night."

Luke's pale face grew paler as he looked at his husband. "He was there, how do you know that?"

"I saw him. I thought he was you, Luke…the hair I saw the hair and I blacked out. But before that I remember seeing the SUV and the driver…"

"Was Randy," Luke said finishing Noah's sentence. "That bastard hit you with his car, and then left you there."

"And he's in jail," Noah gently reminded his husband. "He was sentenced for hurting you, and he was arrested for hurting me. And he can't do it anymore…and it's not your fault."

"Do you think we can stop talking about him then?" Luke asked biting his lip.

"I definitely wouldn't complain," Noah agreed. "We can talk about my dad."

"Hmmm I guess that's the lesser of two evils."

"Luke!" Noah said trying to look indignant but failing.

Luke chuckled. "Did you have some memories about your father?"

"Yeah…and I needed to share them with you because I don't understand them."

"Do you mind if we continue this conversation in our bedroom? Noah, what are you doing," He laughed and wrapped his arms around Noah's neck as the other man stood, lifting him into the air. "Are you crazy, put me down."

"I've always wanted to do this…so humor me will you." Luke's laughter was a nice change from the gloominess of a few minutes before. He rested his head on Noah's shoulder as Noah carried him to their room. Finally when they stood at the foot of the bed he set him on his feet.

"You are such a dork," Luke said kissing him softly. "And I fall more in love with you every day."

"While you were in the hospital I thought about you all the time," Noah voiced as he pulled Luke down to the bed. He wrapped Luke in his arms and continued his thought. "You are everything to me, Luke…I love you. If I don't' remember anything else for the rest of my life I know that much, and that is more than enough."