Noah stared wide eyed at Luke, sure he must have misheard, "WHAT?"

"I'm sorry." Luke got in quickly, "I wouldn't ask unless it was important. I need to know."

Noah pulled his hands roughly out of Luke's, "Why the hell would you ask me something like that? Where's this coming from all of a sudden?"

"Noah…"

"Why do you think I would have done something like that to her?"

"Well Noah, you kissed ME while you were with Maddie, so…"

"So I was sleeping around as well? That kiss was different Luke and you know it!"

Luke sighed deeply. This wasn't going as he had planned. "Look! You promised you wouldn't take this the wrong way! You said I could ask you anything."

"Oh no you don't! You can't trick me into giving you the go ahead just so that you can spring something like this on me afterwards!"

"Please." Luke tried to remain calm in the face of Noah's indignation and he nervously pressed on. "Please just trust me and answer the question."

Noah glared at him but eventually answered him, "NO! No… I didn't cheat on Maddie! But obviously that's the kind of person you think I am!"

Luke considered this for a moment and then rephrased his question. He knew he was upsetting Noah but he had no other way of finding out. "Okay… Okay…" he held both hands up. "You officially started seeing Maddie when we were in Branson for Gwen's gig, right?"

"Yes." He said it through gritted teeth.

Luke's mind was working fast, "So… so… okay? If you didn't cheat on Maddie, did you sleep with anybody else in Branson? Before the two of you were together?"

Noah jumped up from the couch, his face etched in shock, "LUKE?"

Luke remained seated, a sad look on his face. He didn't like having this effect on Noah… He wanted to grab him and apologise… but it was for his own good that he was asking.

Noah turned his back and ran his hand through his hair. Finally he took a deep breath as though calming himself and turned back to look down at Luke. He stared right at him, eye to eye, reading them as he had done thousands of times before. His faced softened at the worry and love in them and he said gently, "I know you wouldn't be asking me this if you didn't have a reason. I don't know where you are going with it, but… no… the answer is no. I never slept with anybody other then Maddie while we were in Branson."

Luke smiled wetly at him then stood up to hold him before kissing him on the lips with relief. "Thank you. Will you sit back down with me please?"

Noah allowed Luke to pull him down onto the couch, so that Noah lay against his chest and they interlaced their fingers. Luke took another deep breath and said, "In the past, when I've thought about what you must have looked like as a child… he's the image I had in my head! He's you Noah!"

"Who?"

"The kid. Sometimes when I look at that kid it's like I'm looking at you."

Noah turned his head up, "Oh my god! You thought he was mine, didn't you?"

"I wasn't sure so that's why I went to see Joshua last night. I told you he said that he snatched the kid?"

"Yeah…?"

"But I left out that he snatched the kid from Branson. And he seems about the right age so I thought maybe it was possible… I still…"

Noah turned his entire body around so that he lay straddling over Luke, staring right at him, "Luke. Trust me when I say this! There is absolutely no possible way that the child is mine. Okay?"

Luke smiled, "Okay. But you understand why I had to ask, don't you?"

Noah kissed him, "Yes. I understand. I was a little shocked! But I understand."

Luke pulled Noah's head against his chest and kissed the top of it. "I'm sorry I had to ask."

"It's okay."

"How did I ever get so lucky?"

"I'm the lucky one…"

...

He fell out the bed during the night and the fall brought back images of the day. Noah had knocked him into the ground. At first he had been angry! He thought Noah was hurting him and Noah had promised to never hurt him. But afterwards Luke and Noah had been really scared and they had hugged him and kissed him. Nobody had ever hugged and kissed him before and it felt… it felt safe. Noah wasn't trying to hurt him. Noah was keeping him safe from the bad men. They spoke about the bad men with the policeman.

He sat shivering on the floor. He was afraid the bad men would come and take him away. The light was on outside the room so he went to see if Luke and Noah were there. But it was very quiet. He held his hands behind his back as he crept towards their bedroom. He wasn't sure whether to go in. Maybe they would be mad at him and… But no! He didn't think that… he didn't think they would ever hurt him.

He was scared to be alone so he walked to the end of the bed and watched the two men sleeping. They lay on their backs and Noah was hugging Luke. He tried not to but he sneezed and then froze! Luke's eyes opened and spotted him. He held his breath, waiting for the backlash. Waiting for that look he had seen in the eyes of so many other men before… Every man he knew (except for Joshua) had a temper and, when angry, it was best to stay clear of them.

He felt the tears coming and he fought to hold them back. Crying usually got him in a lot more trouble. But he started to cry in spite of himself. He always cried when he was scared, and right now he was frightened of the bad men coming back. Noah said they could make them dead. He didn't want to be dead.

He started to back away from the bed, but Luke wasn't mad. Luke smiled at him and held out his arm, gesturing for him to climb on the bed. Luke had a nice smile.

"Come on." He whispered, "Jump up."

He started to suck on his thumb, unsure what to do. He stared for a long time at Luke but Luke didn't move from the bed, just stayed with his arm out, smiling. He wanted to go to them. He felt they would keep him safe if the bad men came so he slowly climbed up on the bed and crawled into the space between them. He put his head down on the sheet just below Luke's arm and crawled into a ball, sticking his thumb back in his mouth and staring up at Luke. Making sure he was ready to run quickly if Luke's mood should suddenly change.

But Luke pulled the sheet up to cover all three of them and then kissed his check muttering, "Sleep tight." And felt like he could relax.

Just before he fell asleep he thought how much he liked Luke and Noah. He wondered how long he could stay with them. He wondered where Joshua was.

...

The company lawyer looked tired and stressed as Luke showed him inside the house. The poor guy had been up nights dealing with the fallout of the bombing, trying to negotiate a reasonable insurance settlement for Luke. Gareth was by far the best lawyer, aside from Tom Hughes, that Luke had ever worked with. He knew everything there was to know about the law and not much slipped past him. In addition to that he was one hundred percent committed to Grimaldi Shipping and more importantly he was on Luke's side. He was just as keen as Luke was to clean up Damian's mess.

As they entered the lounge Noah stood up from his editing to greet him.

"Gareth, this is my partner Noah." Luke introduced as he closed the front door.

"Pleased to meet you, Gareth." As Noah spoke the boy froze where he sat on the floor and as Gareth moved forward to shake Noah's hand, he shot up and scurried down the passageway. They heard the closet door slam shut at the back of the house.

"Nice to meet you too, Noah." replied Gareth, staring down the passageway, as he shook Noah's hand.

"Don't worry about it." explained Noah, "He doesn't like strangers. It just takes him a while."

"Ah, I see." Smiled Gareth and then, changing the subject he said, "So, what the hell happened here? It looks like a war zone outside! Reporters are all over the place"

"Oh you know!" replied Luke, "First it was a bomb and then it was a couple of AK47's!"

"WHAT?" Gareth exclaimed.

"Yip! Yesterday! They shot at us from a car. And like the bomb they gave us notice too, so we're pretty sure it was just to scare us."

"Damn! These guys are serious, aren't they? So what's the next move? I expect this is why you called me over?" He rubbed his close cropped head.

Luke looked over at Noah. "I want you to put a plan into action."

"What kind of plan?"

"I want you to find a buyer for Grimaldi Shipping."

...

"Three men are wanted in connection with a drive-by shooting in this quiet middle-income street in Los Angeles." The dark haired reporter stood in front of a police cordon, behind which Julius could clearly make out the bullet ridden cars. Jesus! AK47's if he wasn't mistaken.

"The attack took place at 7:30am yesterday morning. Officers attending the scene are thought to have found three victims, two men and a child. It is believed that nobody was hurt or killed in the incident…"

Julius sighed in relief and sank back into the couch. Shit! That was way too close!

"The motive for the attack remains unclear and names of those involved have not yet been released. Police have provided this community with the enhanced support of trauma counsellors. Mayer Hawthorne has come under renewed criticism for failure to control the current increase in gang related activity in the city. He is due to release a statement later today."

Julius lifted the remote and the screen went blank. He had to get ready. He was meeting Gianni at his father's house that afternoon.

His phone rang and he shuddered when he saw the display. Now he would get it, "Sir?"

"Why am I finding out about this from a television news broadcast Julius? You should have called me yesterday!"

"Sir, I didn't have all the information..."

"I don't care shit for your excuses! Do you hear me? And where were you anyway? You are supposed to be looking out for him!"

"Sir, I tried to get hold of him but there just wasn't time…"

"I want you to keep me better informed, understood!"

"Of course, sir!"

"Now I can't have this. It's time we send this Di Alberto family a little message of our own! We'll teach them to mess with a Grimaldi heir! You know what to do?"

"Yes sir!"

...

Two hours later, finished with their discussions on the finer details of the plan, Gareth turned on the doorstep to face Luke, "I guess there's nothing I can say that will change your mind, right?"

"I'm sorry Gareth. I'm really grateful for all you've done for me and the company, but I don't want any part of this. They're threatening my family and I can't risk that. I couldn't live with myself if anything were to happen to them because of me."

"I understand Luke. But, I'll miss working with you! You're a good person! A much finer man then that father of yours ever was!"

Luke smiled at him, "Thank you."

Gareth gave him one last slap on the shoulder and left.

Luke found Noah in the bedroom staring into their closet where the boy had fallen asleep on the large pillow they had placed inside for him.

Noah looked up at Luke as he entered and smiled, "He's beautiful, isn't he?"

He definitely was. Sleeping on his tummy, with his head bent towards them, he looked like the very picture of contentment.

Luke smiled back, "Poor little guy must have been bored to death in there! He didn't have time to grab his pencils."

"Do you think he's okay? After yesterday I mean?" Noah asked.

"He didn't seem any different today. I'm sure he's fine." Luke had the feeling that Noah would stay there looking at the child forever if he could. Seeing Noah like this… peaceful… made him feel warm inside, but he also felt afraid. "Noah? We should talk."

"Later…"

Luke knew instantly that Noah was avoiding the issue, "No babe… I really think we should talk now. There's a lot…"

"Who would do this, hey? Who would neglect him like this?"

Luke pulled Noah around to face him, "That's what we need to talk about. What are we going to do with him?"

Noah's eyes filled with dread and Luke felt a stab in his heart, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Babe… we can't get attached to this child. He doesn't belong to us. For a while I thought maybe he did, but you're sure he's not… so…"

Noah's breath shuddered and he was shaking his head as Luke held his arms.

"After lunch we talk to Joshua. We find out why he stole the boy. But, Noah, it can't be good… and that means we have to tell the authorities."

Noah turned from him to look back at the boy, speaking softly, almost as though he was in a trance, "He needs someone to love him…"

"Yes! You're right! He does! But that person might be out there desperately looking for him!"

Noah's voice was suddenly stern, laced with anger, "Whoever did this to him doesn't deserve to get him back…"

His tone sent a chill down Luke's spine, "We can't keep somebody else's kid, Noah!"

"Maybe… maybe he's our kid now…"

God! Noah was losing it. Luke grabbed his elbow and forced Noah to look at him again thinking that disconnecting him from the sight of the child, might help to bring him back to reality. "Maybe he's our kid now?" Luke repeated Noah's words, hoping he'd see how crazy they were, "Noah! We still don't even know his name!"

Noah's eyes were filled with desperation, "Then we'll name him… we'll give him a name, Luke…"

"NOAH!" The child started at the sound of Luke's raised voice but he didn't wake up.

"Shh, Luke! You'll wake him up!"

Luke closed his eyes for a minute, trying to gather his thoughts. He clung to Noah's hands and squeezed as he said, "Please! Please just listen to yourself!"

He opened his eyes when he heard Noah make an audible sound of pain. The tears streamed down his face and he fell suddenly to the floor. Luke dropped to his knees and took him into his arms.

"God Luke!" he cried, "I know you're right! But…"

Luke was sobbing too now, somehow the tiny, silent boy had slipped under the radar and into their hearts and now neither of them could imagine a life without him. "I get it, babe! Don't you know I love him too? But we have to do the right thing for him! And that means…"

"…it means we have to find his family." Noah finished.

Luke nodded and they sat holding each other on the floor by the boy's side as he slept. Noah rubbed his little hand between his thumb and forefinger.

...

"Yo Pops!" Gianni greeted his father as they entered Marco's impressive Tuscan styled office.

"Hello son! And Julius! Come here my boy." Marco kissed Julius once on each cheek before patting his face. "I hear you've been taking good care of my son Julius! Hopefully you have taught him a thing or two?"

As far as Julius was concerned this apparent crime family were a bunch of amateurs. The Tuscan villa was guarded by only four armed men. One of them lay with his throat cut on the floor of the kitchen. Another took a silent bullet in his heart as he supposedly guarded the front balcony. A quick snap of the neck from behind had taken care of numbers three and four. Easy!

And now this allegedly fearsome crime lord was completely at Julius' mercy. And he didn't even know it yet. Instead he welcomed Julius with open arms and a glass of ruby port.

"Oh don't worry, sir, I plan to take good care of your son." Julius cooed placing his glass on the closet surface near him.

"Yeah Pops! No worries! Julius treats me fine!"

Julius looked over at Gianni and grinned. "However there is one important lesson your son has yet to learn sir!"

"Oh yes? And what's that?" Marco sat at his desk and leaned comfortably back in his chair, his glass of port held high in his hand as he waited with expectation for the funny comment Julius would no doubt make.

Quick as lightening Julius withdrew his pistol and shot Marco neatly, just the once, right between the eyes. The chair had wheels and the force of the shot sent it flying back into the wall where Marco's head slumped on impact. The man's white collared shirt quickly stained with a mixture of port and blood.

"How to keep his big mouth shut!" Julius continued before turning the pistol on Gianni, whose eyes had popped out of his head as he squirmed back into the opposite wall. Julius smirked at him with disdain.

"Motherfucker!" Gianni screamed at him, "You'll pay! You'll pay for this!"

"Shut up or I'll kill you! I swear to god I'll kill you Gianni! And I'll enjoy it!"

Terrified Gianni cowered against the wall, eyes squinting upwards as Julius placed the pistol right on his forehead. "Listen really carefully, friend!" Julius threatened, "Looks like it's your lucky day! You are now the proud owner of a crime syndicate… Only this syndicate will keep its hands well away from Luke Snyder and his dealings..."

Gianni's eyes shot back to stare with hatred at Julius.

"Understood?"

It looked for a second like Gianni would refuse him but a quick shake of the gun seemed to convince him and he nodded.

Julius holstered the weapon and looked the other man up and down before leaving him as he fell shaking to the floor.