WARNING: Mentions of child abuse and rape.

Brian watched as the door was broken open, and the men suited in black stepped through. He saw the eyes of Tanner through the black mask that covered most of his face. He also saw the flow of emotions that swept through those eyes, as he saw Brian laying there on the bed, dying.

The man took off his mask, and ran over to Brian, putting pressure on the wound, all the while calling for the paramedics to come to the room. Brian tried to smile at the man, but it came out lopsided, and then turned to a grimace, as the old man pressed harder on the wound to try and stem the bleeding, that had renewed itself.

Blood was running over his chest, but through the pain, Brian managed an, "I'm sorry," to the man, before passing into the darkness that had been trying to grip him. Tanner looked as if he were going to cry when he felt Brian slipping away from him, and frustratedly yelled out for the paramedics again.

Nick Tanner did not get attached to people easily. He had known Brian since the kid had adamently decided that he was going to become a fixture of the police station, which ever side of the law didn't matter. He had known Brian before he had boosted cars, and gotten sent to juvie for two years, and the kid had been one of the best people he had met for a long time.

He was nice, though he had hung out in the wrong crowd, and the kid just wanted attention. His mother had died when Brian was only ten, and his father was a drunk, often beating and molestingBrian when there was no reason for it. Brian had taken to staying over at Tanner's house when he knew that his father was going to be drunk, and had quickly become friends of Tanner's nephew, Joshua.

Josh and Brian were the same age, exceptJosh's father hadn't molested him;and they both had almost the same story. Tanner had custody of Josh, because of his father, and had felt as an adoptive parent of Brian's. Brian had spent more time at Tanner's than he had at his own home, because getting attention was good, but getting the wrong attention was a very bad thing.

Tanner now looked at Brian, and saw the young man's life slowly slipping away, all because the need for a family had grown too strong for him. He had taken a liking to Toretto and had paid the price for becoming part of the makeshift family. It wasn't really Brian's fault, it was more like the kid's father's fault.

Tanner had been there the day that Brian had told his father about the assignment, and had almost decked the old man for what he had said to Brian.

"Dad, don't you get it? This may be my chance to get a detective's badge!" Brian said, his voice happy, and full of life.

"Don't blame me when something goes wrong, and with you and your ways, it's bound to be a screwed up mission." His father had slurred drunkenly.

"And you wonder why I hate you..." Brian had growled under his breath.

"Hate me all you want, you may as well die on this assigment, then maybe you can meet someone who gives a damn about you and your life." His father had taken a step toward Brian, and Tanner had tensed in his position outside of the door.

"You should have died in that accident, not mom; she wasn't the drunk one. How she could ever love you, I 'll never know." Brian had growled at his father, and Tanner had heard it as the slap had gone across Brian's cheek. Brian's head had snapped back, and he had glared at his father, before turning around. Just as he was about to walk out the door, he had felt his father's hand on his arm.

Brian had visibly tensed, and had turned to his father, who was raising his fist to punch Brian. Brian caught the hand, and twisted it around the older man's back, his other arm wrapped around the man's chest to make sure he had no room to move.

"You can't hurt me anymore, father!" Brian spat.

"Maybe not, but you still have the memories, and you were one sweet, tight, bi-" Brian had cut the man off, punching him in the head and had then left the house, not knowing why he had gone there in the first place.

Brian hadn't really talked for days after that, and the only time that he really did open up had been around Toretto. Even then he had never talked about what had happened to him, and Tanner wasn't so sure that was a good thing. Brian had almost always held in his emotions and it had caused one breakdown already. He had been in juvie for about a year when something one of the other guys had said had caused him to become unstable, and Brian had lost it.

Now looking down at Brian after having seen the look in his eyes, Tanner could tell the man didn't have that much stamina left to hold out on another breakdown. And what was worse, he was probably going to prison for aiding and abetting a wanted criminal. And running from the cops would get some time added on to that sentence.

Brian suddenly started shaking beneathe his hands, and Tanner didn't know how loud he yelled out for the paramedics, but there was one there within a matter of seconds. He was pushed out of the way, and had to just pray that Brian would be okay.

It was about twenty minutes later that Brian was loaded onto a stretcher, and pulled out of the room. His convulsions had finally stopped after a few minutes, but so had his breathing. He was now breathing with an oxygen mask on and his skin pallor was too white. His LA tan all but gone under the paleness from his loss of blood and fever.

Tanner had no idea whether the young man would live or not, and he didn't know which of those would have been best. Live and go to prison, or die and go to heaven?

So what did you think, push the gay button and tell me!