John closed the door to Bo's office, standing there with Michael. "What's up?" John asked.
"John... Shannon came to me earlier... she remembered about... Aidan."
John shook his head. "Stop," he said. "You need to stop right now with this." Michael took a deep breath, swallowed hard. "God, Michael! I could go to jail for this. So can you!"
"We were protecting Shannon." Michael said.
"You shot him, Michael! I was covering your ass!"
"It was an accident!"
"That doesn't matter!" John said, hand going through his hair. "That doesn't matter, Michael. Don't you get it? Nobody else even knows that you were in that house. Nobody. I took the heat for this, so you can't bring it up again. You got that, Mikey, never again."
"Never again," Michael agreed softly. "To the grave..."
"Good," John said. "Now, you should go um... just go wait with Marcie and the others."
"What about Messina?" Michael asked.
"Nick admitted to everything, Michael." John said. "I don't think there's anything I can do. He's refusing a lawyer..."
"And the kid he beat to a pulp?"
"You'd probably be able to get more information on that than me," John said. "But from what we heard, the kid is pretty bad off."
"I can check up on things at the hospital." Michael said.
"You do that, Michael," John said. "Let me know when the Harrison kid is awake. We need to talk to him."
"If he's as bad as you say..." Michael sighed. "I'll let you know."
John nodded. "Let those kids know that Messina's going to be arraigned in the morning."
>>>>>>
Mark paced nervously outside the police station. He had called his father from the payphone, grateful for the fact that his parents had decided to stay in Llanview after Mark was hurt. It was nice to at least know that he had his family close if he needed them.
"Mark?" Jack Solomon said, hurrying up to his son. "Are you OK? You didn't say much on the phone..."
"I'm OK," Mark said. "I need your help... legally as... as a lawyer, Dad."
"Are you in some kind of trouble?"
Mark shook his head. "Not me," he said "It's Nick."
Jack thought. "The boy your mother met in the hospital. He sat with you for a long time. He's a really good friend of yours."
Mark took a deep breath. "Nick is... he is a lot more than a good friend, Dad. Nick is... Nick is my boyfriend." Jack didn't say a word. Didn't know what to say. "He's my boyfriend, Dad. I'm gay."
"You're what?" Jack managed to say.
"Gay," Mark said softly. "I'm gay. I like... other guys. Gay." Mark watched his father's expression. It was blank, shocked. "I understand that... you're surprised and you didn't expect this. Dad... Dad, please say something."
"You care about him?" Jack said.
Mark nodded. "I love him," he said. "I love him Dad. He means more to me than anything. He's in there behind bars because... he loves me too. Please try to understand this. I know that it's a lot to ask you but... please try. Please Dad."
"Where is Nick now?" Jack said.
"Inside in a cell. You're gonna help him?"
"Of course I am," Jack said. "You're my son. Who you love... is just that."
"You're not disappointed?" Mark asked in shock.
"I'm surprised," he admitted. "I wasn't expecting it but... I still love you, Mark. I don't understand but... I want to. I'd like to try. I want to try."
Mark smiled. "I'd like that. I'd like to help you get it. Get to know the person I am. Get to know Nick.." he smiled. "I think you'll really like Nick. He's... he's really amazing."
"Speaking of," Jack said. "Why don't you show me where he's being held. We'll see what I can do for him."
Mark nodded, smiled with a sigh of relief, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "He's this way." he said, leading his Dad inside.