Warning: Slash (homosexual content), rape, depression, suicidal thoughts, child abuse, domestic violence – and whatever other angst I can manage to work in. If you don't like this, don't read it, for flames only serve as a source of amusement for me.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: As much as I would kill to own Tom Hanson and Dennis Booker, I don't. And I don't own the rest of Jump Street, either. Too bad for me.

daizia - Well, if I work things right, the mystery will only go deeper. And Penhall's protectiveness is only going to intensify, and become problematic, on several fronts ;)

RosePetal - Thank you! When I started writing I tended to do just dialogue, but I've since started putting a lot of effort into the descriptive parts; now when there's only dialogue, it's for a reason :-P So I'm glad you appreciate the effort :-D And I'm very careful about how I write the characters, so I'm glad it's showing through.

Nina - Again, I'm glad you appreciate the way the characters are written; it's very difficult, I've found, to keep guys - especially 'tough guys' like Booker - in character, keep that edge, while still writing them as loving, especially with another guy. I've definitely managed to challenge myself here. I'm really glad you like it though :-D Oh, and the twists will keep coming; count on it

Chapter 7

Hanson broke into a run at Judy's exclamation, his eyes catching sight of flames lapping at the seams between the roof and walls, and hesitated for just a second trying to decide what to do. He didn't want to cause a panic, but… "Fire!" he shouted at the same time as Hoffs started yelling for people to get away from the building. They were met with confused looks at first, until one of the teachers finally reacted. Then everyone started running, and Tom grabbed Judy's arm, pulling her out of the path of the mob of students and back the way they'd come. Using his free hand, he pulled his shirt over his face. Most of the smoke was going up into the air, but he was breathing some of it in just the same.

They met up with Harry on the baseball diamond near third base just as fire trucks pulled up to the building, and he watched as a few stragglers scurried away from the building. It didn't look like anyone had been hurt in the mad rush, but when he faced Ioki and Hoffs, he realized she was rubbing her arm. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Probably have a bruise, but I would've had a lot worse if you hadn't pulled me out of there." She leaned over, hands on her upper thighs, coughing.

As Ioki rubbed her back lightly, Hanson eyed her with concern. "You sure?" he asked but turned away before she answered, overcome by a bout of coughing himself.

"I've had a lot worse, Tom. I'll be fine." As he turned back, she straightened up and glanced back toward the gym before wrapping her arms around herself. "Something tells me we won't be having cheerleading practice this afternoon."

"No, probably not," a female voice agreed. Hanson turned to see that Joanne had materialized behind them and was now standing with her arms crossed, looking at him with disapproval. "I lost you in the crowd."

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that. Kind of hard to hang on to people." He squared his shoulders back and gave Hoffs a warning glare as the foursome fell silent.

It ended up being Harry who spoke again next. "You cold, Judy?"

"A little," she admitted, rubbing her hands over her arms. "Jacket's still in my locker."

"Take mine." He shrugged out of it and for a moment she looked like she was going to turn him down, but she ended up nodding gratefully and letting him put it over her shoulders.

Tom heard Joanne clear her throat next to him and, stifling a sigh, turned toward her. "Oh, uh, are you cold, Joanne?" He stifled another cough.

"No, not really." She gave him a sweet smile and he felt like bashing his head against a wall. One of the many benefits of dating Dennis was not having to play these kinds of games. Idly, he wondered what Joanne would have to say if she knew he was gay, and the thought of her reaction brought a smile to his lips.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked, interrupting his train of thought.

"Yeah, what?" Hoffs asked pointedly, and Hanson glared.

"Just that this probably means we get to go home early. And," he snapped his fingers, "Darn. All my books are in my locker, and I doubt they'll allow us back inside today. Too bad. No homework tonight."

-------------------------

"Where do we stand?" Fuller asked, and Booker glanced over at Penhall, giving him the chance to go first.

"I got nothing. These guys are pretty tight-lipped. Went over to their table at lunch and asked if I could sit down, and one ignored me, one nodded, and the other just shrugged and stared at his mystery meat." He paused. "There's something about that guy Greene, though, that bothers me. Gives me the creeps." He mock shivered and Dennis rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair.

"Booker?"

"I think they're telling the truth. I actually talked to one of the kids today, Adler. Greene blindsided me at the end of class to offer his assistance to me in catching up to the rest of his students, and Adler was waiting outside when I finally escaped. He asked if he offered me help, and I said yeah, and then he told me he could help me out if I needed a study partner. I said Greene didn't seem so bad, and he went white as a sheet."

"What was he doing outside the room?"

Dennis shrugged. "I don't know. But he was just standing there, staring at Greene's door."

"Maybe he's got a crush?" Judy asked. "I mean, everybody has a crush on a teacher at some point. What's this guy look like?"

"Like he could get anybody he wanted if he weren't so interested in teenagers," Booker muttered.

"So, maybe he's got a crush, hit on the teacher, and the guy rebuffed him and now he's pissed."

"No high school boy is going to say he slept with a male teacher if he didn't," Dennis argued. "I'm serious, Captain. This kid looked scared. Plus, he was trying to get me not to take Greene up on his offer."

"Maybe he sees you as competition," Harry suggested.

"Rightfully so." Booker shot a look at Penhall, whose eyes widened when he realized he'd spoken aloud. But as none of the others seemed to have heard, Dennis didn't say anything.

"I doubt it," he muttered.

"Booker, you got anything else other than how the kid acted?"

"Yeah. Greene seems to take a serious interest in his male students, and ignores the female ones. I gave him an answer that couldn't have been farther off and he says that I'm close, but one of the girls answers a question dead-on and he comes up with twenty reasons she's wrong." He paused. "He stares at the boys, and when he stopped me after class he grabbed my arm, didn't let it go until I was leaving. And once the rest of the students were gone, he was standing in front of me, about here." He held his hands six inches or so from his chest, "and put his other hand on my shoulder." Dennis shook his head and tried to shake off the unease that had settled over him once again. "This guy, man… I'd bet my next paycheck these kids are telling the truth."

Fuller nodded. "Technically, him putting his hands on you would probably be enough to convince the boys upstairs to pick him up, but I want more than that. Keep playing standoffish, Booker, and be careful that you just go along with whatever he does, not come across as initiating anything. These cases are touchy like that; it's easy to cross the line without even realizing it." He turned to Penhall. "Keep trying to get in with the boys, and if that doesn't work at least keep an eye on Adler, even from a ways off if you have to. Something about him doesn't sit right with me."

"Got it, Captain," Penhall said, and Dennis just nodded as Fuller turned his attention to Ioki, Hoffs, and Hanson.

"Get anywhere in the four hours you had today?"

"Actually, yeah," Judy said. "Joanne Crisal has taken quite a liking to Hanson, and their relationship is progressing along beautifully already."

"Yeah. Remind me to thank you for that, Harry," Tom said with a scowl. "'Are you cold, Judy? Here, have my jacket.'"

"She was shivering!" Ioki protested.

"You knew full well—" Hanson started, until Fuller interrupted him. Dennis just looked back and forth between the two.

"Let's stick to the case, shall we? Now, what's going on?"

"What's going on is we're not going to have a case because I'm going to kill this girl!" Tom exclaimed. "I'd known her for an hour and she was already yelling at me for losing her in the crowd during the fire alarm!"

"She didn't yell," Judy interjected, and now that Dennis thought about it, her voice sounded a little hoarse. "She just… scolded."

"You too," Tom glared and Dennis frowned. His boyfriend didn't sound so hot, either. "The both of you are having way, way too much fun at my expense."

"Case. Assignment. Murder. Can we focus please?" Hanson quieted in the face of Fuller's aggravation. "Now, without bickering, where do we stand?"

"There's something about this girl, Coach, that rubs me the wrong way. And Hoffs said that the sister's boyfriend, uh, what was his name?" he asked, glancing toward Judy.

"Greg Marist."

"Yeah. Anyway, he seems to have something against Joanne." Tom turned away, coughing, then reached a hand over. Dennis rolled his eyes, then handed him his can of soda.

"Captain, when he saw Hanson with Joanne, he said Hanson was already getting in over his head. And then when he and the girl started walking toward us, he couldn't get away fast enough."

As Fuller nodded, Tom turned to Harry. "You said you thought maybe there was abuse involved?" When he nodded, Hanson shook his head. "There's no way. Nothing about this girl suggests anybody's ever so much as looked at her the wrong way. What gave you that idea?"

"A lot of things I heard about the other girl. Classic signs – bruises, closed off, doesn't talk much, all of that."

"Could be Marist," Judy said, stifling a cough.

"I don't really think so. He's one of the ones who told me about it, and I don't see him calling attention to something like that if he was the one who did it."

"Harry, who does this guy think killed his girlfriend?" Dennis asked. "Has he said anything?"

Ioki shook his head. "He won't talk about it, clams up whenever someone brings it up."

"Slightly suspicious," Penhall commented, and Booker snickered inwardly when Hoffs shot him a look.

"Not to defend the guy or anything, but his girlfriend did just get run down in his high school parking lot. Occasionally, people have reasons for not wanting to talk about someone's death that have nothing to do with them having murdered the person."

"Not to defend him or anything," Tom mumbled, and when Judy turned her glare on him, he held up a hand. "You deserve it. But seriously, I think you're right." He turned to Fuller. "And I know homicide thinks the father did it, Coach, but I think Joanne had something to do with it."

"You only talked to her for an hour," Ioki pointed out.

"I know. But she doesn't exactly act like she's grieving. And something about her attitude—" Tom broke off, raising a hand to cover his mouth as he started to cough. Dennis looked over at him, concerned, but didn't say anything.

Once he'd stopped, Fuller nodded. "Well, watch yourselves, all of you. And when I find out a cause for the fire today I'll let you know. Right now, it doesn't look like arson, though, so you're probably clear there."

"Good," Hoffs muttered. She yawned, only to swallow it as she started coughing. "Sorry."

The Captain frowned. "How close were you two to the fire?"

"We were outside, but pretty close," Judy admitted.

"You see anybody about smoke inhalation?"

Hanson shook his head. "Like she said, we were outside." He rubbed his hand over his throat. "Just a little dry."

"Right. The coughing doesn't stop, you both go to the doctor, got it?" Tom just nodded, draining Dennis's drink.

"We'll be fine, Captain," Judy said, yawning again. With that, she stood. "While I don't need a doctor, I am tired. I'm going home, take a nice, hot bath." She started to walk away, waving over her shoulder at them, then stopped and came back. Leaning over the table she said in a loud whisper, "Better watch yourself, boy, before you lose that boyfriend of yours to a high school girl." Dennis felt his face burn, but took minor solace in the fact that he couldn't possibly be as red as Tom was.