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.

Chloe -Thanks >hugs> See, I've seen the tv show "Booker" - have you ever watched that? - and Dennis's character is very... different. He's more developed, deeper, a nicer guy and somewhat less womanizing. Also, more introspective. Though, of course, he still has the edge that makes him Booker. Here's a great quote from an episode where he's had people trying to pay him to break guys' arms or legs, when he makes an announcement to the entire office because he's sick of it:
"All right, listen up, and I'm only going to say it once, so write it down, okay. I am not an animal, I am a man. I am a human being. I won't break limbs for money, I fear Mike Tyson, I don't eat razorblades, I haven't slept with more women than Picasso... and I love cats."
As for Hanson and Penhall, well, I'll read it (I love slash, as you could probably tell :-P ) but I can't see it enough to write it. Probably partly b/c I don't have a solid enough grasp of Penhall. Both Hanson and Booker I can identify with, so I can understand them and see this working ;)

Island-of-corfu - Thanks! Always love new readers :-D I find that a lot of people aren't big Booker fans; I probably wouldn't like him near as much if I hadn't seen his show (see my note to Chloe), but even his character in JS fascinates me. And, yes, I adore particulars. ;) I'm really enjoying writing Judy in the role of Tom's supporter, because while she's partnered with Harry for the most part in the show, she and Hanson seem to have a unique bond. I love the episode where they're undercover at the school where they almost have a race riot... then Judy's handling of Tom after his girlfriend dies, etc. So they falling into this kind of friendship seems fitting to me. And as for not having everyone all cool with Tom and Dennis being together - well, it was only the late 80's, early 90's. I just didn't think it'd be realistic for there not to be some trouble. Glad you agree :-D

xobabiigirl54 - With the work schedule I've got coming up, I'll be lucky to manage a chapter every five days, never mind five chapters a day. But I'll try to write this weekend so you guys don't have to wait so much. And if you're really bored, I have a couple other Jump Street things posted here :-P shameless plug :-P

daizia - Regarding Dennis's reaction to Tom touching him, and whether that type of thing will continue... remember, Dennis has a past and it's rapidly coming back to haunt him. Oh, and did I mention it'll soon get much, much worse? As far as Booker's dad and the teacher, well, let me say this: According to the show "Booker," Dennis's father's reason for leaving, which Dennis finds out in the last episode of "Booker," was that he went into the witness protection program after testifying against a mobster. So, you do the math >whistles innocently> And... Joanne, Joanne, Joanne... she's off her rocker, huh? She's only going to get worse, lemme tell ya >evil grin> As for Dennis and Doug... Yeah, it was nice of Doug, but how much good did it do, you think? Things are going to get more difficult between these two before they get better. Regarding Trista... she's really only a minor complication... I think >evil grin>

Nina - Properly chastised, huh:-P I'm having fun with the character relationships - particularly Dennis and Doug, and Tom and Judy (and, of course, Dennis and Tom). So, you think Judy had ulterior motives for kissing Hanson, eh? That'd be a thought >pushes away plot bunnies> As far as Joanne... she's a bit desperate, and not quite thinking things through. However, she's not stupid, and she's got something up her sleeve. >walks off whistling>

Chapter 14

"Nice party," Penhall muttered. "Should call in some black-and-whites. That'll fix the problem real quick."

"It might get to that," Judy retorted. "Come on." She turned around and stopped short when she saw Hanson and Joanne standing there. Her eyes flitted toward Tom's face, but he didn't look panicked, so she assumed they hadn't been there long enough to hear Doug's comment. "Tom, Joanne… my cousins Doug and Dennis. My dad decided it wasn't safe for his little girl to be alone with all the high school boys." She rolled her eyes dramatically and tossed a glare in Booker's direction.

Joanne lifted an eyebrow. "Cousins?" Her voice was a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

"My dad's brother married some white girl last year." She rolled her eyes again and cast a pointed glance at Doug, waiting for a reaction from him. She wasn't disappointed.

Penhall pointed a finger at her. "You watch your mouth when you talk about mom."

"Why don't you watch it for me? That's what you're here for anyway, isn't it?"

Booker got into the act. "Can it, or I'm sure your dad would love to have you home tonight."

"Y'know, I don't care if he sent you here. You are not my boss, Dennis, and I'll say and do whatever I want and there is not a thing you can do about it." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hanson trying not to laugh at her over-the-top acting, and glared at him for good measure.

The man didn't blink, though she could see his muscles tense. He leaned forward slightly, as if reminding her of his taller stature. "You want to bet on that?"

In response, Judy rose up on her toes and placed a hand on his chest, giving him a hard shove backward. "How much?"

Dennis caught her hand as he regained his balance, twisting her arm up and pulling her close, effectively rendering her immobile. "You couldn't afford it." Then he pushed her back, into Tom, and at that moment Harry came out of nowhere.

He moved between them, blocking Booker from reaching for her again. "Leave her alone."

"I don't want to hurt you, kid," Booker replied. "So get out of the way."

"No."

Judy felt Tom's hands on her shoulders, slowly guiding her behind him as if shielding her from an impending brawl. As she moved, she kept her eyes on Dennis and Doug. Booker glanced over at Penhall, and she was a little surprised to see no trace of the anger that had been present in Fuller's office earlier. Instead, he looked every bit the role he was trying to play, his eyes essentially asking his 'brother' Is this guy for real?

"Look, kid, we're her cousins; it ain't our fault she doesn't like us that much." Doug spread his hands innocently as Harry clenched his fists.

"I don't care who you are; keep your hands off of her!" Everyone stood still for a moment, and Hoffs could see a little apprehension in Joanne's eyes.

It faded, however, when Ioki finally moved, stepping back to take her arm. As he pulled her away, she glanced over her shoulder and gave Dennis a quick wink before letting her partner drag her off.

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Dennis watched Joanne run off to take care of some minor disaster, and moved to stand next to Hanson. "That's her, huh?"

"That's her." Tom sipped his beer. "How much did Fuller tell you, what Jude said when she called?"

"Something about her trying to get you drunk?" He raised an eyebrow. "You all right?"

Hanson shrugged. "Yeah." He paused and offered a mirthless grin. "It's your fault, y'know."

"Huh?"

"I did what you told me to – told her I wouldn't sleep with someone I'm not married to. So now, apparently, she's decided that since I won't do it sober, maybe I'll do it drunk!" The grin was gone, and it was clear just how much the situation was weighing on his boyfriend's mind.

"Keep your voice down," Dennis admonished him, earning himself a glare. "Sorry. Guess I didn't count on her being that much of a mental case."

"Yeah, well, she is."

Tom took another drink, a much longer one this time, and Dennis reached for the bottle, letting his hand hover over his boyfriend's for just a moment. "Slow down. Joanne's going to do enough damage; you don't need to give her any help."

His lover didn't reply right away, and when he did the words weren't what Dennis had expected. "I wish you'd told me."

The walls Booker normally kept around the memories he'd spilled earlier slammed back into place. "I'm not gonna talk about this now."

"Dennis—"

"No. You want to give me hell, you can do it when we get home. Right now, we have a job to do." He paused. "And your girlfriend is headed our way." He returned to scowling, tightening a fist and glaring at Hanson.

The other man took the cue. "You touch Judy again, and Harry won't be the only one getting in your way," he hissed, just loud enough for Joanne to hear, though Dennis knew she'd probably assume Tom hadn't meant for her to. "Got it?"

Booker rolled his eyes. "You think I'm scared of you?"

"If you aren't, you should be."

It was all Dennis could do not to laugh at that, knowing how concerned Penhall was about Tom dating him. "Right. I need a beer." He shouldered his way past Hanson, despite having more than enough room to walk around him, nodding curtly at Joanne on his way toward the house.

Inside, he got himself a drink, more for appearance's sake than anything else, and stood by the window. It had long ago gotten dark, and he'd guess that about half the partiers had passed out in various places throughout the house and grounds. Joanne, however, was still quite wide awake, and from the looks of it, Tom didn't really have the energy to fend her off much longer.

Dennis watched them head toward the same door he'd come through and moved away, feigning interest in the drunken, bikini-clad teenage girls wandering around, beers in hand. Apparently, he was a little too convincing, or they were drunker than he'd thought, because one of the girls sidled up to him, draping her arms around his neck and nearly spilling her drink on him in the process. He hesitantly placed an arm around her waist as he saw Tom and Joanne come in.

His boyfriend was pleading exhaustion, but Booker heard his voice falter as Hanson looked in his direction, though he started talking again almost momentarily, reassuring her that he was perfectly fine going to bed on his own. Joanne didn't seem thrilled at the idea, but after a minute or two, she caved. But before letting him head toward the pool area – and, presumably, Joanne's room, she gave him a long, lingering kiss that made Dennis wish he was in her place.

Once Tom was gone, Dennis saw Joanne look his way, and gave her a lecherous grin. She glared at him, disgusted, before stalking by him and heading for the kitchen.

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"Do you know how many boys I've kissed tonight trying to avoid letting Trista see my face?" Judy dropped down next to Harry on the lawn, drawing her knees up to her chest. "This is going to be a disaster; I'm honestly afraid to go to sleep tonight!"

"We'll keep watch or something," Harry offered. "Hanson already went to bed; I think he figured that Joanne would leave him alone if he was already asleep; I think he's in her room, though."

Hoffs grimaced. "Not the most ideal situation – not that he could avoid it." She paused and picked at a blade of grass. "When was the last time you talked to Booker or Penhall?"

"I saw Booker getting pawed by some girl in the pool room, and Doug's sort of been following you around and glaring at Booker whenever he sees him."

"You'd think he'd cool it after today," Judy muttered. "Nothing against Penhall, but his ability to be pigheaded amazes me sometimes."

"I think it amazes him, too," Ioki replied. He glanced down at Judy, who was shivering, and then looked around at the girls, still in their bathing suits for the most part, scattered across the yard. "How are they not freezing?"

"Alcohol," his partner replied dryly. "Most of these girls are so far gone they don't even feel the cold." She frowned and shook her head. "I thought the Crisals were supposed to be a middle class family, but any girl who can throw a party like this—"

"And live in a house like this," Harry interrupted, but Judy shook her head.

"Not the house so much; I guess it was the only thing left after Joanne's father died – he was sick for years, apparently. It belonged to his parents. What I don't get is where she got the money for this? Somehow, I don't really see her parents giving her the money to have a huge party two weeks after their other daughter died."

Harry frowned. "You think something's going on?"

"I think she's into something; I just have no idea what." Judy scowled. "I hate good little girls. They're never actually good."

Ioki looked at her askance. "You weren't a good little girl?"

She pursed her lips at him. "Nice try, Harry."

He held his hands up innocently. "I just asked a question."

"To which you will get no reply." Judy smirked, then stood up. "Come on. It's freezing out here, and I want to talk to Doug and Dennis about tonight."

"They're not cold." He pointed toward the students sprawled across the grass.

"Harry, they're unconscious. Come on." She reached down and he let her pull him up to stand.

Booker and Penhall were leaning against the living room wall, side-by-side. Dennis had a beer in his hand that looked untouched, and Doug was working on a slice of pizza. "Where the hell have you been hiding?" Booker growled at her when he saw them.

Ioki hid a smirk as Judy glared at him. "Harry and I had a nice little romp in the bushes. Shoulda been there. It was fun."

"I bet." Dennis glanced toward him. "Just so long as he knows he's somewhere around nine or ten in line for you tonight."

"You're such a jerk."

"So they tell me."

"Would you lay off?" Harry finally snapped, deciding he ought to have had enough by now, in case there were any kids still sober enough to comprehend their conversation. "Judy, let's go back outside and leave Dennis to drink himself half to death." It wasn't serious; Booker was probably more sober than any of them. But the look that passed over Dennis's face at his comment was unnerving.

After a few seconds of silence, Doug broke it, grabbing Judy's arm. "You're not going anywhere."

"Says who? You?" she shot back.

"Yeah, me."

"Sorry, but in case you didn't hear me earlier, you aren't my boss."

"I can fix that." Penhall glowered at her, and as he stopped speaking, Ioki saw him nod his head slightly toward the pool area. He backed off as Doug pulled Hoffs toward the doorway, trailing silently behind Dennis.

The foursome congregated in the corner furthest from the doors leading into the main house, and Penhall was the first to speak. "Where do we stand?"

"I might as well be running a kissing booth, for all the guys I've locked lips with," Judy answered, exasperated. "And I think the bushes are sick of getting up close and personal with Harry."

"There isn't a part of my arm that's not scratched up," he mumbled, glancing at his bare arms. "This is getting ridiculous."

"She's still here, huh?" Dennis asked, his eyes flitting around the room.

Judy kept her face turned into Doug's shoulder. "Last time I saw her she was heading into the backyard." She raised a hand to stifle a yawn. "I'm exhausted, and I want to get some sleep, but I don't dare before she's gone to bed."

"Maybe she's sleeping out there?" Penhall asked. "The tents are set up… though how long they'll stay up, considering the most sober person out there could barely stand, is anybody's guess."

"No; they were all full," Dennis replied.

"I told Judy maybe we could rotate watch or something, make sure nobody gets too nosy," Harry offered. "Short of us taking off now, I don't think there's a better option."

"Probably not." Booker folded his arms across his chest. "I can take first; I'm not really tired. Ioki, I'll wake you up in a couple hours?"

"I can take third," Hoffs said. "I'll be fine after a little sleep."

Booker gave a thin smile and glanced at Doug. "Guess you're last, Penhall." There was an odd quality to his voice, and Harry realized this was the first time over the course of the night that Dennis had really made it clear he hadn't forgiven Doug for the scene in Fuller's office. Ioki decided that the veiled animosity made him a little nervous for the next day.