Heroin and Vodka

Author's note: Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was a bit busy with preparing for my MBA examinations. I'm really busy now as I have to study for multiple examinations as well as give mocks every week or so. Nevertheless, I still managed to squeeze in an afternoon of writing. Anyways, I'm not abandoning this fic any time soon as I plan to see it all the way through till the end. So, I hope you all will also stick with me on this journey till the very end. Ok, I'm rambling. Let's start with this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own How To Get Away With Murder. Its plot and characters are the sole property of Pete Nowalk and Shonda Rhimes.

Chapter 34

It was approximately 6 in the evening.

Both Isaac and Gabriel stared each other down.

Isaac eyed the ball in Gabriel's possession. Each player had scored two points each against the other, but Isaac was slightly worse for wear.

He had been unable to get much sleep ever since the last session he had had with Laurel. The discovery that Laurel might actually be the one behind Wes's death had caused many a sleepless night as he had paced his study, filling up on caffeine, deciding on how to approach the situation. While as a therapist, his duty was first and foremost to his patient, he could not very well ignore the repercussions of such a discovery slide by. While he couldn't directly disclose pertinent information regarding a patient to a third party owing to confidentiality issues, he had finally struck upon a solution to his dilemma. He had decided to disclose the information to Annalise, given her status as Laurel's professor as well as being his past patient.

He had struggled with this decision as well. Ever since Annalise had severed her ties with him, he had decided to respect her request and had not attempted to contact her. But circumstances had changed drastically since. One of her students might have murdered another in a fit of psychotic rage. Who knows what Laurel would do in the future if this information went unheard by her professor? So with much anticipation, Isaac had decided to contact Annalise.

That was easier said than done.

He had been trying to reach Annalise ever since the previous evening. Each and every time, the call had gone to voicemail. Despite leaving multiple voicemails requesting Annalise to call back, she had not done so.

He had called 6 times.

And left 4 voicemails.

No reply.

Isaac sighed and shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He needed to focus.

Gabriel made his move before Isaac could react. He dodged past his guard, and before Isaac knew it, he had scored.

Gabriel caught the ball as it sailed through the hoop and turned to eye him. He gave him a curious look.

"Are you ok, man?" Gabriel asked, as he walked up to him. "You really seemed out of it today. I mean…" he trailed off. "…that last shot should have been easy for you to block."

Isaac nodded.

"I haven't been getting much sleep these past few days, that's all."

Gabriel nodded before walking over to pick up his bag. He suddenly turned to face Isaac.

"Hey. You up for a drink?" Gabriel asked as he eyed Isaac eagerly. "My treat."

Isaac mulled over his offer for a few seconds. Heck, he didn't have much to lose.

"Sure, why not? I'm not passing up a free drink." he replied, with a chuckle.

"Cheers!" Both Gabriel and Isaac clinked their mugs against each other and took their first gulp. Being used to finer tastes, the raw beer caught Isaac off-guard. Yet, he grimaced and managed to gulp it down before Gabriel could notice.

"So…" Isaac asked, setting the mug down warily. "…let's get to know a little bit about each other. We've known each other in the course for around a month. How about outside it? What do you do, Gabriel?"

Gabriel nodded before setting down his mug. Isaac couldn't help but eye the glass in astonishment. It was almost empty!

"That seems fair." Gabriel replied. "I'm still a student. At college. Actually, I'm hoping to get a transfer to Middleton this year when session begins."

Isaac nodded.

"Your turn." Gabriel replied, before downing his remaining drink in one go (Isaac winced) and ordering another one.

"Well…" Isaac replied, "…I'm a therapist. But you probably already know that. I'm a substance abuse specialist. I've been practicing for over 20 years now and…that's pretty much about it."

Gabriel quirked his eyebrows.

"What? No family?" he asked.

Isaac shook his head.

"Divorced." he replied. Isaac readied himself for the next question which was inadvertently coming.

"Any kids?" Gabriel continued.

"Yeah…" he trailed off, as he cast a downward look. "…she died 3 years ago."

Gabriel winced.

"Ouch. Sorry man. I shouldn't have asked."

"No. It's OK. You didn't know." Isaac replied, waving it off. "I'm fine now."

Silence fell between the two.

He had been so used to uttering those words, that he had never realized when the lie had become the truth. Yet, he would often reminisce about those days which he had spent with young Stella, as he had watched her grow into a fine young woman.

He smiled fondly.

Gabriel chuckled.

"Well, I'm not really any better than you." he replied, as the bartender handed him his second drink.

Isaac turned to face him, curious.

"My mom…well…" he trailed off, looking away uncomfortably.

"You don't have to say it if you don't want to." Isaac replied, understandingly.

Gabriel shook his head.

"No. Its only fair. I asked you all this personal stuff. You should get to know something about me. My mom had mental issues ever since I was a child. So, more often than not, I was the one who wound up taking care of her."

Isaac nodded sympathetically, as he eyed Gabriel softly. No wonder the boy was so much more mature for his age. The world had thrust a massive responsibility on his shoulder ever since he was a child.

Yet, one question remained answered.

"And your father?" Isaac asked, already having a growing suspicion.

"Never had one." Gabriel replied, with a shrug, confirming Isaac's suspicion. "He left my mom before I was born."

Isaac sighed.

"We're like peas in a pod then." he replied, before casting a glance at the wide screen at the far end of the bar. Gabriel's eyes followed him.

Someone had just switched the channel from sports to news.

A familiar voice came to his ears. He quickly focused on the screen. To his astonishment, he saw Annalise.

"This is the first step for our plaintiffs, all of whom have been treated unfairly by an overburdened justice system. And now the governor's office is going to have to defend themselves at trial." she replied.

"And we're coming to you live from Philadelphia Courthouse. Tell me, Miss Keating, you're fighting this fight all alone. That can't be easy." the reporter asked.

"Oh. But I haven't been alone. I couldn't have gotten through today without the help of Mr. Walsh here…" Annalise replied, as she indicated to Connor, who stood right beside him. To Isaac's amusement, the young man appeared rather flushed at the sudden focus in attention.

"He will now be answering the rest of your questions." Annalise replied as she walked off and the reporters began to direct their questions at Connor.

Isaac smiled softly.

It wasn't just because he had seen Annalise after what seemed like years. He was glad that she was sober and fine. Perfectly fine to say so. She even appeared to have gotten herself back in the game. He was also glad that Connor was alright. Ever since Wes's death and the blame Connor had shouldered, Isaac had been worried for him. To make matters worse, he had shown up drunk weeks ago, talking about killing himself. Isaac was pleased to know that he had gotten back on track.

He glanced down at his watch and whistled at the time. An hour had passed away since he had been at the bar.

"Well, I'd better be off." he replied, as he grabbed his coat. "Or else I'll be late for—"

He stopped abruptly to find Gabriel had disappeared. His bag was gone. There was absolutely no trace of him having been there. $20 dollars lay on the counter.

Isaac's brows narrowed in puzzlement. It was very unusual of Gabriel to make off without informing him. He couldn't call him either as he did not have his phone number. Deciding that some emergency must have come up requiring his immediate attention, Isaac got up and strode across the bar, leaving, unaware of a set of eyes which followed him leave.

Isaac was just approaching his door when he spotted a woman standing by it. As he neared, the woman looked up at him.

"Isaac Roa?" she asked.

"Yes?" he replied.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a large yellow manila.

"I work at the Court of Common Pleas and was asked to deliver this." she replied, handing it over to him.

"What is it?" he asked, taking the manila.

"That's all I can say." she replied, before walking past him and disappearing into the night.

Curious, Isaac pulled out the document from within the file and read it over. Having read it, he sighed.

Things were getting way out of hand now.

Author's note: So, I was planning on initially continuing this chapter but decided this was a good stopping point. Anyway, its already past 1900 words, and I've been typing for a solid 3 hours now. Yeah, Gabriel left. He wont be appearing any more till he makes his canon appearance. Anyways, next chapter is the much anticipated and awaited meeting between Annalise and Isaac. Stay tuned to know what happens. Also, I guess I won't be able to update as frequently as I have been doing these next coming weeks as my mocks occupy much of my time. I will still try to squeeze in at least one chapter a month, regardless of my schedule. I'll try to have the next chapter out before August. Let's see. Read and review!