Warning: Slash (homosexual content), 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.

A/N: You'll notice that the summary for this fic and the warning have been altered. That's because I've decided to take a plot line I'd originally intended to work into this story and spin it into a fic of its own. It'll take place directly after this story, but I'm going to write the prequel first. That way the necessary background for what will be the third story will actually be in place so I hopefully won't confuse myself or you guys. Well, anymore than I already have.

island-of-corfu - I have so much trouble with Ioki; glad to know I seem to be getting him right. The night itself won't be such a big deal; Tom's going to get a short reprieve. But it's what comes after that that matters. >whistles>

Nina - The groping was necessary, from a certain point of view. ;-) She had to blend in with the crowd, y'know:-P As for Joanne, you'll see soon what's going on. And maybe a thing or two will start to fall into place - for everyone.

daizia - Oh, yeah, I know it doesn't make it okay. I was just trying to say, in response to your concern that the behavior might continue, that it very well might, considering all he's trying to deal with. Not that that means it will >whistles> As you know, I'm sure,I love Booker. And I hope that maybe by the end of this fic you like him a bit more too. And I'm so flattered you're reading despite disliking him. :-) I don't know how much Doug and Dennis being there will help >looks angelic> As for Ioki, he was just observing that Dennis still is pretty upset at Doug. Got it a bit backward ;-)

Fanfic Fish - Welcome back :) So, you want Dennis to get hurt? Well, be sure to read my note up above ;-) You'll (sort of) get your wish. Eventually ;-) I love that quote :-D

godspeedandleather - Thanks! Always glad to see a new reader :-D And here's more...

Chapter 15

Hanson attempted to roll over, groaning inwardly when he realized that his way was blocked by the sleeping form of Joanne Crisal. It took him a moment more before he realized that his arm was actually pinned between her and the mattress. Uttering a silent prayer that she'd had a few drinks after he'd turned in and would be too far gone to wake up at his movement, he painstakingly pulled away from her.

For a few almost heart-stopping seconds, she stirred and mumbled something, but then just nestled deeper into the blankets. Tom took his opportunity and slid out of bed, making a beeline for the door – after first checking to ensure he was still fully clothed.

He made his way into the living room, seeing Judy asleep, her head on Ioki's shoulder. The Vietnamese man, even in his sleep, had an arm protectively around her. If he didn't know them well enough to be sure Hoffs would shoot Harry before they could make it through one date, he might think there was something between them.

Of course, they'd acted the part enough times that it was almost second nature. Sort of like he and Doug as the McQuaids.

Penhall was in a chair by the door, keeping watch like the overbearing, obnoxious cousin he was supposed to be. He was probably the only other person on the property not asleep – or otherwise unconscious. Except for maybe Dennis, who was nowhere in sight.

Tom knelt down on the floor next to Doug, who didn't give him much more than a sideways glance. "Booker's letting Fuller know we're all still alive; we kind of forgot that part last night."

"I called in before I went to bed," Hanson replied dismissively. "How'd things go?" He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so awkward around his best friend.

Oh, wait. Yes, he could. The night he'd come out to him.

Penhall shrugged. "Their covers are still intact, I think. But I don't think it's going to last; that girl Trista is still here, and it's only a matter of time before one of them walks around the wrong corner and kablooey." Doug glanced over the students scattered around the room and shook his head. "Problem is, we're here more as backup than anything else. Hoffs and Ioki take off, and there's no reason for me and Dennis to be here, which would leave you on your own."

"Not such a good idea," Tom muttered. "There's something really wrong here, Doug." He wasn't entirely comfortable with relating to Penhall the exact nature of his encounters with Joanne this far, and hoped Doug would take his word for it.

He did. "No kidding." He reached down and took a sip from a can of soda Hanson hadn't noticed he had – probably the only non-alcoholic beverage left in the place – and then said, "I think we need to be ready to call in some patrolmen to break this up."

"How? You blow your and Dennis's covers, Judy's is gone too, and probably Harry's."

"Well, then, we'll have to not blow ours, won't we?"

"Doug—"

"We'll figure it out, Hanson. You just concentrate on keeping that girl off your back."

"It's not my back I'm worried about," Tom muttered dryly, just as Dennis came in.

Booker shot him a bemused look as he joined them, brushing a hand over Hanson's back. A second later, crouched beside Tom, his face was serious again. "I talked to Fuller; he's going to be waiting by the radio straight through until tonight in case we have to call in for backup; he can be here in ten minutes – probably beat some of the black-and-whites."

Tom raked a hand through his hair. "I've got a really bad feeling about this."

Dennis looked over at him, his eyes showing thinly veiled concern. "Yeah? Me too."

"Guys?"

Hanson glanced toward Penhall. "Yeah?"

"Our reason for being here is about two feet from the door."

Tom followed his gaze, then gave his boyfriend a shove. "Go distract her."

As Dennis rose, giving him a none-too-subtle glare, Tom moved to stand in front of Judy, waking the woman and pulling her to her feet at the same time. "Come on. Outside." He left Doug to get Ioki.

The foursome slipped out the door, sticking close to the house, Hanson and Penhall positioning themselves between the entrance and their coworkers. Tom leaned against the wall, shaking his head. "I think this case is making me glad to be gay. No offense, Jude."

She managed a sleepy smile. "None taken. Though—" she glanced toward Doug and then Harry, "why you'd want guys like these, I'll never know."

He made a face as the two other men glared at her. A second later, their glares were fixed on him. "Trust me, I don't."

Judy smirked. "That's reassuring."

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Judy hid a laugh as Hanson downed what had to have been his sixth slice of pizza. Trying to stay a step ahead of Joanne had apparently worked up his appetite. "You're going to feel lousy later."

He washed it down with a long swig from a beer bottle – filled with water. While the girl had run off to keep some of her mother's precious roses from getting trampled, Hoffs had dumped out the alcohol and refilled it. "Nah."

"Right." She rolled her eyes and reached for her own drink, a hard lemonade with just enough booze for her not to seem out of place, but not enough to impair her mind. That was the last thing she needed.

Hoffs had heard enough snatches of conversation to know that she was still dead set on carrying out her plans for Hanson, and had actually come to feel a little sorry for her – and more than a little afraid for Tom's safety. She was more or less convinced Joanne was seriously imbalanced, and this was no longer about keeping the object of her affection simply out of trouble.

Her mind had come up with about ten different scenarios as far as how this all might end, none of them good. She'd shared a couple with Harry, who'd agreed with her that things were more tenuous than they'd first believed, and buried the rest in the back of her mind. Think positive, Judy.

She slid over close to Hanson, both to be in a better spot to talk to him and give herself a clearer view of the door. "You talk to Dennis at all?"

"Tried. But he wouldn't talk here."

"Well, you can't really fault him for that."

"I know." He looked over at her and she was reminded that Hanson's eyes were usually the most expressive part of him. Which was good, because he really wasn't one to talk much, though he'd gotten better about it lately – probably, she guessed, since he and Dennis had gotten together. "I know."

Judy gave his hand a gentle squeeze and changed the subject. "Y'know, I think it's driving him crazy, seeing Joanne all over you like that."

He smirked. "Good."

"You're bad."

Tom shrugged, draining the rest of his drink. "So is he."

Hoffs snickered at that, but nudged him a moment later. "Look alive, Tommy." Joanne was headed their way, and looked none-too-pleased about Hanson spending time with another girl.

She stopped in front of them, holding a hand down. "Come on, Tom. I got a friend to keep an eye on the party, so we can be alone for a while."

Warning bells went off in Judy's head, but she kept silent, watching Hanson closely to see how he'd respond. He sighed and didn't move. "Joanne—"

The girl shook her head. "I thought about what you said, and I just want to talk, hang out…" she trailed off and glanced around. "Mostly, I just want to sit down. My feet are killing me."

Something wasn't right here, but Judy couldn't put her finger on what. It was clear from Tom's face that he'd come to the same conclusion, but couldn't come up with a way out of the situation that wouldn't blow his cover. Neither could she, so she said, "Go on. I'll find Harry and maybe we can have some alone time of our own – as long as I can ditch those goons my dad sicced on me."

Joanne actually looked a bit sympathetic. "Your dad's a little strict, huh?"

Hoffs laughed out loud. "Honey, strict doesn't even begin to cover it. Y'know how they say if you give somebody enough rope they'll hang themselves?" When the other girl nodded, she went on. "He firmly believes in giving me just enough rope I choke myself when I go to the ladies room." Hanson snickered and Judy knew he'd be relaying that comment to Fuller the next time he saw him.

She stood up and brushed herself off. "Have fun, you two. I see my man right over there." Halfway to Ioki, she turned around and watched them disappear into the house, Joanne grabbing another couple beers as they went. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

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"When was the last time you two saw Hanson?" Dennis tried to conceal his worry as he dropped down next to Hoffs and Ioki, though he had a feeling Judy could see right through him.

"Not since he and Joanne left. I thought you were watching the room?"

"I was, until some kid damn near went into convulsions. I couldn't ignore him – especially considering everybody else was." He scowled. "By the time he came back around, the door was open and nobody was in there."

"No one's left our way," Harry replied. "Did you ask Penhall if they went out back?"

"Yeah; he hasn't seen Tom or Joanne."

"Well, then, he's got to be here somewhere. They both do." Judy went quiet. "Harry and I'll go around like we're looking for an open room. We'll start in the back of the house. Wait five minutes, and you and Doug can go around, pretending like you're looking for us. Start in the front, so we'll cover more ground and won't run into each other before we've checked everywhere. Give it another ten minutes, and meet back here."

"All right." Not that he was thrilled about looking for Hanson with Penhall, but… He left without another word, heading into the backyard to find Doug.

The man was right where he'd left him, leaning against a shed where he had a clear view of the main door. "They haven't seen him. They're going to check the back of the house, and in a few minutes we're going to start with the front, like we're trying to find Judy and Harry."

"You think Joanne did something to him?" Doug's voice was nothing if not concerned.

"Yeah. Judy said earlier she was acting really strangely."

"What could she have done, though? Hanson wasn't drunk, he's got about fifty pounds on her, and he's a trained police officer."

"If you're so sure she couldn't have done anything, why are you so worried?" Booker retorted. The man's concern was palpable.

Penhall didn't rise to the bait, just shook his head and looked past Dennis toward the house. An instant later, his expression changed. "About twenty feet straight behind you. Joanne. Alone." He kept his voice low, dropping the volume even more as a group of students moved in their direction.

"Let's go talk to her."

"Dennis, don't—"

"I'm not going to blow his cover or ours," he muttered. "Hey, Joanne!"

The girl looked up at him, a troubled look on her face. "Oh. Hi… Doug?"

"Dennis," he offered helpfully, forcing a bright smile. "Have you seen my cousin? Or her… boyfriend?"

"No, not for a couple hours."

He let his face fall. "Well, have you seen that other kid? Tom? Maybe he's seen them? I saw Judy talking to him earlier."

She shook her head, the strange expression she wore intensifying. "Last I saw him was about an hour ago."

He didn't believe her for a second, but had no grounds to call her on a lie and really wasn't willing to risk his cover for what would probably be nothing, so he simply thanked her and returned to Doug, relaying the conversation.

"Terrific."

"Yeah."

"Now what?"

"It's been five minutes. Let's go find Hoffs and Ioki."

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Judy almost walked right into Dennis's chest, her mind was so occupied trying to figure out where else to look for their missing coworker. She glanced up when she felt his hand on her shoulder. "Any luck?"

"Nothing. We ran into Joanne, though; she says she hasn't seen him for an hour."

"Right." She bit her lip, then nodded her head toward the living room. "Let's get out of here, go someplace I can hear myself think." The music was giving her a headache.

Outside, Dennis spoke before she got a chance. He pushed a set of keys into her hand and said quickly, "You and Harry take my car. Radio the cops and hang out until most of the kids are gone."

"What are you two going to do?" Harry asked.

Dennis winked, though he didn't smile. "Probably get arrested."

"As soon as it's clear, we'll get the uniforms looking for Hanson," Doug said. "And make sure they know who to pick up for this thing." He waved a hand toward the house.

Judy palmed the keys and cast one more quick glance toward Dennis before nodding and taking off, Harry half a step behind her.