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"What are you doing?" Barney asked when he saw Lee standing before him with his bag. Lee only ever had a bag. The fact that his whole life was in that bag was a bit depressing.

"I'm 99.9 percent sure Eric's been hurt. They wouldn't say who the victim was, so that leads me to suspect it was him."

Barney paused mid sip of his beer. Eric. He had just seen him a month ago. When Barney went to check in on Emily, he checked in on Eric too. He kept Eric informed on how close they were to solving everything so Lee could come home. Eric had wanted to tell Emily. Barney had threatened him again.

"Why do you look so shocked?" Lee asked, suspicious.

"Because I am. What do you mean he's hurt?" Barney countered, setting his beer down now.

"It would appear he got attacked in his own bar. I need to make sure he's all right. If he's still alive, they wouldn't advertise it to keep him safe in case his attacker decides to finish the job."

"You sure that's a wise idea? Going there? Are you ready to see her?"

"I can stay low," Lee reasoned. He wanted desperately to see her, but he didn't know if revealing himself right now was a good idea. Her brother was possibly dying. He didn't want to cause anymore pain.

"Why don't I check in on him for you?" Barney offered.

"Like you've been doing the last five years?" Lee challenged. His arms were crossed. Barney should have known better than to think that Lee wouldn't pick up on Barney's flights to New York.

"I just wanted to make sure she was all right..."

"I asked you not to do that."

"I know, but you know me. I don't listen," Barney dismissed. "It wasn't a lot. Maybe five times. Once a year, you know?"

"Liar."

"You want a ride or not?" Barney asked, changing the subject.

"Yea. You owe me one," Lee answered, picking up his bag. Barney sighed and jumped down off his stool, following Lee.

...

"Hi, Mum," Emily said wearily. Ever since she told her mother about Eric, her mother called her almost every hour. Emily knew her mother was very worried, and if it was Eddie, Emily would do the same thing, but Emily was so tired. Hearing her mother go in circles about it all was draining her even further.

"Any news?"

"No, Mum."

"How's my grandson? Is he okay?"

"He's fine. He's asking questions, but he's fine."

"And you?"

"I'm fine."

"You're not working, are you?" Rosemary asked. Emily set down the outline of the fall magazine she was looking at. Of course she was working. She had nothing else to occupy her mind from the screaming thoughts that she might never see or talk to her brother again. She could only focus on Eddie so much, and she could only go for so many walks with Shadow. The dog was even starting to refuse to leave the apartment, which was big indicator.

"No," she lied.

At least her mother wasn't asking her if she was eating. Emily had finally stopped worrying so much about staying 90 pounds. She was still a version of thin of course, but she wasn't so conscious of food all the time like she used to be. Not as much anyway. It popped up here and there, but she was handling it.

"My flight is in eight hours," Rosemary said. "I couldn't get one sooner."

"It's okay. Eric's not going anywhere."

"He has to come back, Emily," Rosemary insisted, crying a little now. "He has to."

Emily had no reply. The tears were making it too hard to speak anyhow.

...

When Barney landed his plane, Lee felt anxiety like he'd never felt before. He did his best to still his shaking hands, but it was difficult. He dropped his bag a couple of times.

"You sure you're up to this?" Barney asked, noticing.

"Yea."

Lee wanted to go to the bar first. He needed to find clues. Luckily, no one was there anymore since the crimes scene folks were finished up for the moment. Lee stood among the mess and felt angry inside.

"Who would want to hurt him?" Barney asked. "He always seemed like a nice guy to me."

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?" Lee countered. They didn't find anything that would help identify the perpetrator. He checked out the surveillance cameras, but the tapes were gone. He assumed they were taken already by police.

They went to the hospital next. It wasn't hard to sneak around and find Eric's room because there was a police officer posted outside of it, which was a bit of a deterrent.

"What now?" Barney asked. Lee thought hard. Then, it was made easy for them. The officer's cell phone rang, and he answered. He got a goofy look on his face as he walked away from the door. Barney guessed it was a significant other on the phone the way the guy was talking.

"Unbelievable," Lee muttered. So much for constant protection. They slipped inside, and Lee went in to stand beside Eric and felt his heart clench. Seeing his friend so lifeless and vulnerable created a whole new level of feelings inside of Lee.

"I'm gonna find out who did this to you," Lee said to Eric. "And then they'll pay. I promise."

He stood there for a bit longer until Barney snapped his fingers to get his attention.

"Someone's coming," he hissed. Lee ducked away and slipped into the closet with Barney right behind him. They both looked through the crack in the door.

"Hi, brother," Emily said, coming in. Lee tensed, his breath constricting and almost choking him at the sight of her. It had been five years. Barney put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed tightly. Lee clenched his fists so hard his nails cut his skin.

"Mum called," Emily said, sitting down beside Eric's bed. "She's coming on the next flight. I'm not sure what to do with her, though. She calls every hour as it is, and I can barely talk to her. Trust you to leave me alone with her." She laughed a little. Then she teared up.

"You can't leave me, Eric," she said thickly. "You just can't. I can't lose someone else..."

It took all Lee had not to burst out of the closet and go hold her. He was witnessing firsthand her grief over him "dying," and it was ripping him apart.

"Don't," Barney said quietly, knowing what Lee wanted to do. It wasn't the right time.

"Miss Charlton?"

"Yes?" Emily looked up. The doctor came into the room. Barney watched.

"Can we have a word outside?"

"Sure."

They got up and left the room. Barney crept out with Lee behind him, peeking his head around the doorway. Emily and the doctor were down the hall a bit, and Emily's back was to them. The officer still wasn't back from his phone call yet.

"Go, go, go," Barney urged quietly. Lee slid around him and fled, Barney on his heels. Lee's heart was still pounding as they exited the hospital. As much as he wanted to stay, he knew that was not the place to see her for the first time after so long. Then again, maybe it was. He figured she was going to hurt him. Why not have medical aid on standby? His logic won, though. He'd face her soon, but not here.

"Where to now?" Barney asked.

"Their apartment," Lee answered. He figured he'd find some kind of clue there if the police hadn't already searched.

...

"There's more brain activity?" Emily asked, repeating what the doctor said.

"Seems to be. That's a good thing," Dr. Goodwin assured her.

Emily had turned around in the hallway when she noticed Dr. Goodwin looking over her shoulder at something. Emily had seen the back of a man disappearing around the corner, but she didn't know who it was. The doctor was frowning, but he had missed where the man had come from as he had been looking at Eric's papers.

"After an assault like this, any positive news is good news," Dr. Goodwin went on. "Don't give up hope." He patted Emily's shoulder and then left her in the hallway alone. Emily felt cold. She shivered. Then she went back to sit beside Eric. She saw the officer return then, and she wondered where he had been. He looked a bit sheepish, but she didn't press. No one knew her brother was still alive aside from the officer standing guard, the investigating officer, and their captain, she believed. That's what they had told her anyway. It was still kept off the news. This was just a precaution, but it was one she appreciated all the same.

...

"What's the status of the bar case?" Will asked his colleague casually at work as he slipped a piece of gum into his mouth.

"Don't know. It's very tight lipped. Only the captain and Detective Duke know what's going on," his colleague shrugged. Will found this to be very interesting. Was there a chance Eric was still alive? He wondered. His buddies had beaten him up pretty good, and Eric had looked very dead when he'd left. Still...

Perhaps Eric Charlton wasn't dead after all, and if he wasn't, then Will was going to have to take care of that.

...

Barney stood near the doorway as Lee entered the apartment. Memories flooded him as he began to look around. He pictured Emily everywhere. He remembered hanging out with Eric in the living room and playing video games. He heard clacking on the floor, and Shadow came around the corner. Lee froze, but Shadow simply wagged his tail furiously and ran over to him.

"Hey, buddy," Lee said, petting him and rubbing his ears as the dog whined. The dog was a bit older and greyer around the edges, but he was still Shadow. "I missed you too."

"You better hurry up," Barney commented.

"Yea, yea," Lee said, stopping and continuing on. Shadow followed him around the apartment as he searched. In Eric's room, he noticed that things were a bit messier than usual. He knew his friend was not a neat freak, but he wasn't this messy either. Lee bent to pick up a binder from the floor, and a piece of paper fell out. He read it, frowning.

Eric, this is a grand opportunity. Call me. Will.

A number was behind the message. Lee pocketed it and kept searching. He found no other evidence of a Will in Eric's room. He stepped out into the hallway and paused outside Emily's door. He couldn't help himself. He nudged it open and went in. The first thing he noticed was how much it smelled like her. He almost stopped in his tracks when it hit him. Forcing himself to continue, he scanned for clues. His eyes stopped on the picture frames beside her bed, and he felt his heart almost stop.

"Lee?" Barney called. "You done yet?"

Lee stepped forward slowly, his eyes never leaving the one photograph. He picked it up, feeling numb and in shock. A little boy in Emily's arms was looking back up at him, beaming. He was about four years old, Lee guessed. He swallowed. His hand was shaking again. Had she gotten with James after he died? Was the boy James's? He felt that familiar anger towards James then.

"Lee, come on. I hear someone."

He forced himself to put the picture back down and backed out of the room. He reached Barney, and they exited the apartment and went down the hall a bit just as feet approached them.

"Excuse us," a lady said, smiling. She had a young boy by the hand, and he was looking up at them. Lee instantly recognized him as the boy from the photo in Emily's room.

"No problem," Barney smiled back, stepping aside.

"Hi," the boy said, waving.

"Hi," Barney said back. Lee was silent, his tongue unable to form words.

"I forgot my stuffy," the boy went on.

"Oh no," Barney commented. "That's not good."

"Yes, well, it's a good thing we're just down the hall," the woman laughed.

"My name's Eddie Lee Jones," the boy said cheerily. "I'm four."

"Cool," Barney grinned.

Lee had to reach and rest his hand on the wall to prevent from falling over.

"Eddie, come on now," the woman said. "The men have to get going."

"Okay," Eddie said. "Bye!"

"Bye, bye," Barney waved as they made their way to Eric and Emily's apartment door. Lee was already heading down the hall to the stairs. Barney caught up to him. Lee was breathing hard by this point and seeing spots. He had a son? Was it his son? He had to be his son. Why else did he have Lee's name?!

They tromped down the stairs heavily until Lee had enough and stopped, making Barney almost run into him.

"What...?" he started.

"Did you know?" Lee demanded.

"Know what?"

"That she had a son?"

"No. I did not know."

"How did you not know? You said you came to check on her! You talked to Eric!"

"I only saw her at work. I didn't come near this place. I never saw her with a kid. I swear. And Eric didn't tell me." Barney frowned at this. Why wouldn't Eric tell him? Or was they why he was working so hard to make Barney tell Emily the truth?

"Oh my God," Lee said, rubbing his face hard and feeling like he was having a panic attack.

"You don't know if he's yours for sure."

"The timeline is a little coincidental. And his name? Eddie Lee Jones? It's my name with her father's name."

"Maybe she got with someone right before you came back. Maybe she just likes your name."

"Not helping!" Lee said angrily, thinking about James again. Barney held up his hands.

"Okay. Let's just drop it for now. Did you find anything?"

"Yea. A note from a guy named Will."

"Then let's figure out who Will is. Sound good?"

"Fine," Lee growled. He followed Barney out of the building, and they went to check into a motel. Lee's head was still spinning. If Eddie was his son, and he was certain he was because his gut said so, then he missed out on a lot of milestones. His son wouldn't understand why his father played dead. This entire situation just got majorly worse.

...

Emily got home and collected Eddie from Nancy Wilson's place. She was so grateful for the woman and all the times she took Eddie with no questions asked.

"Did you have fun with Mrs. Wilson?"

"I did," Eddie nodded. Emily smiled and rubbed his hair affectionately. He looked so much like Lee and Eric it wasn't funny. They went into the apartment where Shadow greeted them eagerly.

"Yes, yes," Emily said, petting him. The dog had grown on her a lot since Lee had died. She felt connected to Lee through the dog, which normally she would have called someone crazy for doing that. In this case, though, it felt very sane. The dog was extra chipper tonight, though, which made Emily frown at him. Normally Shadow had a subdued, almost depressed state about him since Lee had died.

"When is Uncle Eric coming home?" Eddie asked, interrupting her thoughts. Emily's stomach twisted. Her son was too little to understand, but he was more perceptive at times than she realized.

"He's still sick," she answered. "He's staying at the hospital for a while, remember?"

"Right," Eddie nodded.

"Let's get you ready for bed," Emily said. Eddie ran off ahead of her towards the bathroom. Emily paused in the hallway, sensing something. She looked around and felt a bit strange, like someone had been in there. She examined the apartment carefully, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. She chalked it up to nerves, and went to help her son get ready for bed.

...

Miranda Priestly sat at home and thought about Emily Charlton. She had heard through gossip circles about what had happened to her brother, that he was dead. Miranda thought about reaching out to her, but she refrained. She knew Emily was furious with her still about what she'd said to her five years ago about Lee Jones. Miranda sniffed. She still held her ground on that statement. Michael Jones had been into illegal activities. She'd known it because she had lived in London and knew the family. Well, her cousin, Laurie, had been married to Michael, and Laurie had shared some information about what was going on before they both wound up dead. The boy, Lee, had gone to his uncle's. Miranda hadn't wanted anything to do with him, not that she figured Laurie would have had it written anywhere that Miranda was to become the boy's legal guardian. Then, as fate would have it, that same boy winds up dating her employee. Miranda had to protect Emily because Emily did not deserve to have the same fate as her cousin, Laurie. Unfortunately, Miranda didn't get her point across well enough, and Emily had almost wound up dead alongside Lee.

"Mum?"

She blinked, seeing her one daughter standing in front of her.

"Yes, dear?"

Her twins were 16 now. Time certainly went fast.

"Caroline is trying to sneak out again," Cassidy said. Miranda sighed.

"Thank you."

Caroline seemed to enjoy the night life. At almost 17 and done with high school already, the girl thought she was invincible. Miranda loathed being a single parent sometimes.

"All right, Caroline," Miranda said to herself. "You want to play, let's play."

Thoughts of Emily, her brother, and Lee Jones were now far from her mind.

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