Luke opened heavy eyelids to an empty bed; just a Noah-shaped crease left in the sheet beside him. He rolled lazily over to check the clock.

05:03

Noah's early-rising habit was drummed into him since birth. It came from growing up in a military lifestyle with an anal-retentive father. But over the months, Luke's laidback habits had begun to rub off on the young director. Lately, Noah enjoyed a few more minutes in bed; especially if those few minutes included cuddling under the sheets.

So even for Noah, 5 a.m. was earlier than he'd usually rise on a work day.

Luke yawned, stretched and dozed in bed for five minutes; the sleepless night taking its toll, his heart still heavy with everything that came to light.

As much as he would have loved a few more hours of slumber, he was eager to check on his husband; make sure Noah was coping after all that had happened with Terry.

He groaned as he found his feet and shuffled to the bathroom; scratching an itch on his outer-thigh. The shower was wet and Noah's towel damp.

Luke left his shorts in a puddle on the floor and stepped into a lukewarm shower; spots of cold water blasting away the sand in his eyes and refreshing his skin. He shivered but didn't turn up the heat. He needed the tiny icy blasts to wake him up.

…

When a dressed Luke sauntered into the kitchen, he wasn't surprised to find his father already there. The older man sat at the counter in his pyjamas; morning edition of Luke's newspaper spread open before him.

"Oh my God!" Holden teased. "Quick! Get out the camera! Luke Snyder… up before the sun!"

"Ha… Ha…" Luke scoffed.

"Interesting article today, Son," Holden complimented, lifting his coffee mug in mock toast.

"Thanks, Dad," Luke smiled. "Um, have you seen Noah?"

Holden frowned over the rim of the mug. He placed the cup down, licking foam off his corner lip. "I thought he was asleep."

Luke breathed a little too loudly.

"Something wrong?" Holden asked.

Luke considered for a moment, but shook his head. "No," he said, reaching inside the top shelf for a clean coffee mug. "I'm sure it's fine. Maybe he just went for a run to clear his head."

"Tough session with Dr Curtis, ha?"

Luke sadly nodded. "He's really struggling, Dad. And I feel terrible! Because, until last night, I didn't realise how much…"

Holden stood and gently squeezed his son's shoulders.

"I'm so damn selfish," Luke continued, shaking his head in dismay. "I've been so wrapped up in the whole Uganda thing and getting the word out there." Luke grabbed the newspaper off the counter; scrunching it slightly in his fist before banging it back down with a thud. "I should have paid more attention."

"Luke…" Holden rubbed his son's back thoughtfully. "I'm not gonna lie, you messed up this time. And it hurts us to see Noah so worried for you; especially when you've caused most of your own suffering…"

"Gee, thanks, Dad." Luke crossed his arms and glared at his father. "Is this supposed to be making me feel better?"

Holden smiled. "I'm proud of you for making a stand when others need help. I've always been proud of you for that. I'm not saying the situation is all your fault… Noah still needs to learn to let go of that emotional control he has over himself. It's not easy to help him when he closes himself off so much."

"Yeah, but at least he's talking to you about stuff now… I just wish he'd talk to me…"

"Some stuff…" Holden reminded Luke; glancing knowingly at his son.

After the incident with the news broadcast, Luke should have known it wouldn't take long for his astute father to put two and two together.

Luke sighed; glancing away so Holden couldn't read the truth there. "Yeah…"

He poured himself coffee from the fresh pot Holden made; staring out at the early morning dew glinting like tiny diamonds on each blade of grass.

"What are you thinking?" Holden asked, returning to his seat at the counter.

"I'm wondering what time he went out…" Luke sipped on the warm drink as he considered this. "How long have you been up for?"

"Not long," Holden admitted. "Fifteen minutes maybe."

Just to be sure (and because something was niggling inside his brain) Luke searched the house; only to discover that Noah's truck keys, wallet and cell phone were all missing.

"He's already left the house for work?" Holden asked.

Without replying, Luke located his phone and dialed for Noah.

Holden watched him. "Voicemail?" he asked when Luke's face fell.

Luke nodded, waiting for the automated voice to finish so he could leave a message. "Hi, Noah, it's me. Could you call when you get this?"

"I'm sure he's fine," Holden assured, as soon as Luke had hung up. "Just had an early shoot or something…"

"They've finished filming, Dad."

"Well, maybe he's getting in some early edits? He'll call back."

"Yeah..." Luke wished he could be certain of that.

…

When the phone finally rang an hour later, it wasn't Noah's voice to greet Luke as he answered it.

"Hi, Luke." Harvey Becker sounded apologetic. "I'm sorry to bother you at home, but is Noah with you by some chance? We're due in a meeting and he's not shown up for work yet…"

That heavy feeling Luke had all morning swelled and sank to his feet.

"He isn't there?" Luke clarified, struggling to hold the phone to his ear as he fried eggs for the children's breakfast.

"Not seen him," Harvey replied, "…and this meeting's kinda urgent…"

"He left before I woke up." Luke's mind raced through all the possibilities but couldn't come up with anything plausible enough to explain Noah's out of character behavior.

"Luke? You still there?" Harvey's voice sounded anxious after Luke's long silence. "Look… I'm sorry if I've worried you… It's just not like Noah…"

"No," Luke agreed. "No it's not." He scanned the empty kitchen as though mentally willing Noah to suddenly appear. The eggs started to sizzle madly as they lay forgotten in the hot pan. Luke jumped into action. "Shit!" he grimaced; burning his finger as he quickly pulled the pan from the heat.

"You okay there, Luke?" Harvey worriedly asked.

"Yes," Luke replied, turning off the stovetop. "Yes, sorry about that. Just burned some eggs… Um… Do you think you can manage the meeting without him?"

"I'm not sure…" Harvey honestly replied. "These backers are really only here to meet Noah and…"

"Just cover for him," Luke begged. "Noah's been dealing with some private stuff and I think he may have taken some time without telling us…"

"He didn't seem himself yesterday…" Harvey agreed, growing quiet on the other end of the line as he considered whether to voice his next thought. "It's this trial, right?"

Luke sighed, rubbing at a throbbing pain developing in his right temple. He supposed it was only natural that people at the studio would talk.

"Yes… amongst other things…" he replied; closing his eyes to the immensity of it all.

"I'm sorry things are hard right now…" Harvey said. "Of course, I'll do my best. I'll just explain that he's ill or… Don't worry. I'll come up with something…"

As Luke thanked Harvey and hung up, Holden returned from helping Lily get the children dressed.

"That was Noah's screenwriter," Luke explained. "Noah's not at work, Dad."

Holden's features shadowed. Luke could see the man's thoughts twirling; just as Luke's were.

Quickly, Luke redialed Noah's cell, praying the man would pick up this time. But as before, the call went straight to voicemail; and again, Luke left a message.

"Where is he, Dad?" Luke asked; becoming desperate.

As if Noah cosmically heard Luke, Luke's phone beeped.

"Noah's sent a text!" Luke told Holden with relief.

"What does it say?"

Luke clicked the 'open' button and read, "I'm okay. I need to find her. Don't worry. I Love you."

"What does that mean?" his father asked. "Any ideas?"

Luke opened his mouth to reply, but was silenced when the doorbell rang.

"Hold that thought…" Holden said; leaving the kitchen to answer it.

Luke wondered whether his father could hear how loud his heart was pounding. He wanted to beg Holden not to open the door; but he wiled himself not to.

"It's fine," he whispered under his breath.

When Holden finally reached the door, Luke was astonished to hear Terry's voice.

"Morning, Doctor," Holden said; obviously just as surprised as his son. "What brings you here so bright and early?"

"Morning, Mr Snyder. I hope I caught Noah before he left for work."

"Terry!" Luke smiled; leaving the safety of the kitchen only after Holden closed the front door. "You missing us already?"

"Nice to see you too, Luke," Terry jeered.

Luke laughed. "You know that's not what I meant! Of course you're welcome anytime you like."

Terry gave Luke a one-armed hug in response before shrugging off her satchel bag and dropping it onto one of the sofas. "Is Noah home?"

"Well, actually…" Luke began.

But Terry cut him off. "I was so curious about the story Noah told you last night, I went straight from here to the office."

"And?" Luke asked, intrigued.

"Is he here?" she questioned again.

Luke shook his head and Terry glanced in Holden's direction before raising questioning eyebrows at Luke.

"You can talk in front of my father, Terry." Luke accented.

"Well, I found information on the investigation into the disappearance of Miss Kacy Riley. Colonel Winston Mayer was listed as her partner at the time. He was questioned, just as Noah said."

"Wait a minute," Holden spoke up. "Back up… What is this all about?"

Luke spent a few minutes filling Holden in on what Noah had revealed during their session with Terry.

"God…" Holden whispered with horror. "That poor kid…"

"So," Luke turned back to Terry. "What else?"

"Well, it was Kacy's sister, Eleanor Crane, who reported her missing. The sister was convinced the colonel had something to do with it. A week before she went missing, Kacy confided in Eleanor that the colonel was violent. From what her sister said in the report, Kacy was frightened for her safety. Eleanor advised her to leave him."

"But we know she didn't…" Luke grimly said. "And now Noah's run off to prove it!"

"What?" Terry's head snapped round.

"Noah went missing this morning," Luke explained. "He's just sent me a text saying he needs to find her." Then a thought came to him. "The report doesn't happen to say where the Mayer's were living at the time, does it?"

"Yes, it does," Terry confirmed. "But that's not all it says…"