Disclaimer: I own nothing from National Treasure (dang…). I also do not own Aerosmith or Van Halen.

A/N: I know it's really fast, but here's the next update. I also understand that not all of you have been able to review my last chapter, but feel free to review both! Just kidding. You don't have to if you don't want to. But I love reviews! So, thank you to everyone that has been reviewing! I love them all. Hope you enjoy this next chapter, everyone!

Note: This chapter is long and angst-filled, so have a Kleenex box near you or something. Still, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 7

Neither Riley or Abigail were thrilled with the idea of going through with Ben's proposed plan of breaking into the museum at night, but their curiosity of finding the clue overpowered their doubt. The treasure hunter had first suggested they do it that night, but Riley, with surprising support from Abigail, declined since the funeral for his dad was the next day and he needed all the rest that he could get. Ben then tried the next night after the funeral, and Riley, knowing that he would have to do something to get his mind off of the event, agreed.

That night, Ben woke up and heard the sound of typing keys on a computer. Confused, he sat up in bed and saw that it was almost three in the morning. What was that noise?

Then, he sighed. Knowing what it was, Ben carefully climbed out of bed so he wouldn't wake the still sleeping Abigail and quietly left the room, going across the hall to the open door. Looking inside the room, he saw Riley sitting up in bed with his glasses on and typing on his laptop.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping? We have a long day ahead of us."

Riley jumped when he heard the sudden voice, but he relaxed when he realized that it was Ben. "Do you always sneak up on people this early in the morning?" he asked, turning his attention back to his laptop. "It's called knocking."

"Do you always go on your laptop this early in the morning?" Ben countered in a joking way, though his voice was full of concern. "It's called telling your best friend what's wrong."

The techie smiled and shook his head. Ben always seemed to mimic him when he wanted something from him. Clever… "To tell you the truth, I feel sick to my stomach, which is what woke me up," Riley told him, not meeting his eyes. "I don't want to risk being sick, so I'm not laying down. This way, I can get up faster if I should have to… you know…"

Ben noticed with concern in the light coming from the computer screen that the younger man did look a lot paler than normal. Without saying a word, he left the doorway and went downstairs to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of white soda and a glass from the cabinet. Pouring the soda into the cup and putting the bottle back into the refrigerator, Ben went back up the stairs and entered Riley's room. "Here, drink this," he told his friend, knowing that the white soda would help settle his violent stomach.

"This isn't anything that will make me sleep, is it?" Riley asked, skeptically looking at the glass in Ben's hand. Sleeping wasn't something that he wanted to do…

"No. It's just plain soda," Ben answered. "It will settle your stomach some."

Satisfied, Riley took the glass from him and took a small sip, cringing a little as it went down his rough throat. He took one more drink before setting it down on the nightstand beside the bed.

"So, what exactly are you doing?" Ben wondered, sitting down on the bed beside Riley to try to look at the laptop.

Riley glanced at him. "I'm checking out floor plans of the museum and monitoring security at times throughout the night," he explained. "This way, I can determine what time would be the best for our little adventure tomorrow night."

Ben watched as the computer whiz effortlessly moved through the program. "Is this legal?" he muttered, keeping his voice low so that Abigail wouldn't hear him in case she was wakeful.

A grin spread across Riley's face. "Questionably."

"Have you figured out anything?" Ben said as a smile appeared on his own face.

"Yes, I have," Riley told him proudly. "I have figured out what time we should enter the museum."

"Which is?"

"The magic time that security is at its lowest is a quarter after three in the morning," Riley explained. "There's only one guard assigned to that shift at that time. The rest of the five guards return at half past three. That gives us fifteen minutes to investigate the wall, get whatever the clue is if it's truly there, and escape before security is at its highest."

Ben nodded thoughtfully. "That should be enough time," he muttered. "We've been in worse situations where we've had to steal something before."

"Yeah, like the Declaration of Independence," Riley agreed with a smile. "How do you think Abi will handle us breaking into the museum without her?" He had caught his best friend's silent message in his statement.

The treasure hunter sighed. "Not well," he confessed. "Let's just hope that our own funerals aren't anytime soon."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben drove down the small street in silence, looking for the church that they were supposed to be at. He was uncomfortable in his heavy tuxedo in the summer's heat, but he tried his best to ignore it. Abigail sat in the passenger seat beside him, wearing a black skirt that fell to her knees and a black sleeveless shirt. Her blonde hair was tied back in a bun in an attempt to make herself cooler. Riley sat in the back seat in an equally uncomfortable tuxedo as Ben, but he wasn't complaining as he normally did. His mind was on other things, and he was listening to Aerosmith on his iPod to try to forget about the things he was thinking about.

They were going to his father's funeral. It didn't even feel real to him…

Ben finally pulled into the parking lot of the church, seeing that there were around ten cars already there. Riley had mentioned to him that the funeral wasn't going to be very big, and he wondered how many people were actually going to be there.

Tired of being told how jaded he was by Steve Tyler, Riley turned off his iPod and hid it under the seat of Ben's car before he joined the treasure hunter and his wife as they entered the church. The techie slowed as he entered the main hall, hesitant to enter the sanctuary before it was necessary. He couldn't enter it… not now…

Abigail noticed his hesitation, and she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his. "Come here, Riley," she said soothingly, guiding him over to the staircase that led up to the balcony and sitting him down on the third step. "Are you all right?"

"I can't do this, Abi," Riley muttered anxiously, rubbing his hand over his sweat-drenched face as he felt panicked tears form in his eyes. "I can't…"

"Shh… Of course you can," Abigail replied gently, sitting on the step above him and begging to massage his shoulders. She was alarmed to feel how tense he was. "You just need to relax. Everything will be all right. I'm here for you. Ben's here for you. We both are."

"Did you get special training in massaging?" Riley asked in an attempt as a joke, though he felt himself beginning to relax more by the minute.

Abigail smiled. "Nice try, Kid, but that's not going to get you on my good side," she answered. "My mom taught me."

"Well then she's a professional."

Ben walked over to where Riley and Abigail were sitting, a small but sad smile on his face. "You know, Riley, your father's not in the sanctuary yet," he said. "He's in a side room where, shortly before the service, the family will be able to view him. Then, he's moved into the sanctuary when the service is held."

"Was that supposed to make him feel better?" Abigail whispered when Riley took a sharp, shuddering breath.

"That was my intent."

Abigail rolled her eyes as she continued to massage Riley's shoulders.

The door to the church opened again and Dustin entered, wearing a tuxedo as well. Nick was with him along with a beautiful red-haired girl that Ben assumed was Riley's brother's girlfriend. An older couple came out of the sanctuary, the woman hugging Dustin while the man clasped him on the shoulder. The older Poole nodded to them in a thankful manner, and then he went into the sanctuary with Nick and the girl after the two of them had signed a book beside the door.

"I think we're supposed to sign that," Ben muttered.

Abigail nodded in agreement. "We'll be right back, Riley," she told the younger man before following her husband to sing the guest book.

Riley watched them leave, sighing to himself. The same couple that had greeted Dustin so warmly came over to him, claiming that they hadn't seen him hiding on the staircase. Riley gratefully moved into his aunt's loving embrace and was thankful for his uncle's warm, supporting hand. But then, he felt cold and empty as soon as they were gone.

The door to the church opened again, and the techie blinked in surprise when he saw who entered. "Patrick? Emily?" he asked, rising to his feet as he watched Ben hug his parents and as Abigail did the same before the older couple signed the guest book.

Emily heard him first after she signed her name. "Oh, Riley. How are you, dear?" she muttered, hurrying over to him and hugging him tightly.

"What are you doing here?" Riley wondered when she didn't release him. "I mean, how did you know…"

"Ben called us, Kiddo," Patrick explained, joining them with Ben and Abigail behind him as he placed his hand on Riley's back. "We figured you would need all of the support you could get."

Riley felt fresh tears rise up to his eyes from the kindness of Ben's parents, and he buried his face into Emily's shoulder, grateful that she was there. Emily tightened her arms around him, and Patrick began to rub his back.

Ben turned around when the door opened again, and he was caught off guard by who entered. "Agent Sadusky?"

"Hello, Ben," the FBI agent said, signing his name to the guest book after Patrick's.

Riley raised his head off of Emily's shoulder when he heard the agent's voice, wiping away the silent tears that had fallen from his eyes as he looked at him nervously. But surprisingly, Sadusky smiled.

"Relax, Riley. I'm not here to arrest you," he muttered, putting his hands in the air to prove it. "I'm here only for your father's funeral."

After a moment, a smile appeared on Riley's face as he nodded. "Thank you, Sadusky." He was grateful that he was with people he knew, the people that were closest to him. Otherwise, he would never make it through the funeral.

Then, the pastor of the church entered the hall, saying that all people not related to Jeremy Poole were to sit in the sanctuary while all of his family members were to come with him for the final viewing. Abigail squeezed Riley's hand reassuringly, struggling to hold back her tears as she went with Sadusky into the sanctuary. Emily kissed him on the cheek, sniffing as she followed them. Ben sighed as he looked at his best friend. He shouldn't have to be alone.

"I'm not leaving him, Dad," he muttered.

Surprisingly, Patrick nodded. "Neither will I, Son," he agreed, placing his hand on Ben's shoulder. "He can't go on his own. Luckily I had you when my father died. He needs someone."

Ben considered his father's words for only a moment, then rushed forward with Patrick and fell into place on either side of Riley. The younger man was noticeably confused. "What are you guys doing?" he asked quietly. "You're not my family."

"If you keep your big mouth shut we are," Ben whispered in answer. "Now shush."

Still confused, Riley stepped inside the room the pastor had led them to, but stopped when he saw the open coffin. Patrick and Ben put their hands on his shoulders and urged him along, putting him in the line behind Dustin before they went to stand against the wall.

Ben kept his eyes on the family, but particularly on Riley, as they each took turns standing by the coffin, giving their farewells. Some cried, some kissed Jeremy Poole's forehead, and some merely stood before him silently without doing anything. Dustin soon came to the coffin, gently touching his father's cold, lifeless hand before quickly leaving. Then, it was the younger Poole's turn.

Riley slowly approached the coffin, his eyes widening when they landed on his father's body. Suddenly, seeing him lying before him lifelessly, the reality of his father's death came crashing down on him. A hand flew to his chest as pain erupted inside of it, and his other hand flew out wildly to try to find something to support him. His lungs felt as though they were being crushed- he was struggling to breathe. A feeling of immense dizziness came over him as tears flowed freely from his eyes and every inch of him trembled. He was going to be sick. He was going to fall. He was going to pass out. He needed air…

Seeing his best friend break down broke Ben's heart. He took a step forward to get to him, but Patrick put his hand on his arm to stop him. "I'll handle this," he muttered, moving past his son and approaching Riley. He gently took Riley's arms and pulled the younger man up against him, having to support him as he led him away from the coffin and out of the room. Ben noticed out of the corner of his eye that Dustin was watching his brother leave, a mixture of guilt and concern in his cold, gray eyes. Then, the older Poole sighed heavily as he put his hand over his eyes and sat down weakly in a chair.

Patrick led a stumbling Riley down the hall and into the lobby, sitting him down on the couch before he collapsed and immediately sat down beside him. The younger man shook as he sobbed, and Patrick pulled him close to him. "It's all right, Riley," he said in a comforting manner, rubbing his back. "Come on. Settle down now. It's all right. Try to calm your breathing, Kiddo. Come on."

The two of them sat that way for a few agonizing moments. Soon, Riley began to calm down, and Patrick smiled at him warmly when he finally looked up. "There. See, Kiddo? You're all right."

"I'm sorry about that, Patrick," Riley muttered quietly, rubbing his eyes as he took a deep breath. "I didn't mean to… to lose it like that…"

Patrick sighed. "Don't apologize to me for being human, Riley," he told him. "You loved your father. You were very close to him. I understand exactly what you're going through. I remember the pain when I saw my father in his coffin. That's always when the reality sets in. I cried too. But I had Ben, and that helped."

Riley sighed. "Did it feel like you were being stabbed through the heart and you were being torn apart from the inside out?" he asked without feeling.

"Yes. It did," Patrick answered quietly with a nod. "Just remember that you aren't alone, Riley. You're not alone."

The younger man was instantly relieved that Patrick was there with him. He was someone that he could relate to, someone who understood the pain he was going through. Then, Riley gasped quietly when Patrick pulled him close to him again, and he laid his head on the older man's shoulder. He was grateful for his support.

Then, Ben entered the lobby, carrying a bottle of water. "The service is going to start shortly," he said, kneeling on the floor beside the couch and handing Riley the water. "Are you all right, Riley? Do you feel ready?"

Riley took a few gulps of the water that Ben had given him, sighing with relief when it cleared his head a little and made him feel a bit better. He looked at Patrick, who nodded to him reassuringly. Then, he met Ben's gaze. With them, he would be all right.

"I'm ready."

Xxxxxxxxxx

The funeral service felt as though it was dragging on forever. Riley seemed to be lifeless, not reacting to anything around him as his blank eyes stayed glued to the closed coffin that his father was lying in. Ben kept glancing at his best friend nervously while Abigail stroked the younger man's hand with her thumb, tears falling from her eyes. Emily placed her hand on his leg in a comforting manner, and Patrick kept a watchful eye on him. Sadusky sat in the pew behind them, setting his hand gently on Riley's shoulder in a supporting gesture. Dustin looked at his brother from across the aisle, Nick sitting sadly beside him while the red-haired girl cried against the older Poole's shoulder.

When the service finally drew to a close, everyone assembled rose and left the church, heading to the graveyard behind it. Riley stood at the edge of the grave with Abigail clinging to his arm, Ben standing close to his other side, and Patrick, Emily, and Agent Sadusky standing right behind him. The techie was relieved that the people who cared most about him surrounded him, or otherwise he would not have made it through the burial. Dustin stood across the grave from him with Nick and his girlfriend, his cold eyes on Riley. He hated to admit it, but he was actually feeling slightly concerned. The kid looked like he was going to pass out.

After the coffin was all of the way in the ground and final prayers and farewells were said, Riley found himself sitting in the back of Ben's car again. With relief, he knew that they were driving away from the church. This had definitely been the longest day of his life.

"You don't want to go to the lunch with your family, Riley?" Ben asked, glancing back at the younger man in his rearview mirror with concern.

"Not really, Ben, no," Riley muttered in answer as he laid his head against the window and closed his eyes after he grabbed his iPod out from under the car seat. "I would prefer to have pizza with just you guys."

Ben smiled and laughed a little. "All right, Riley. Pizza it is, then."

"We should probably change clothes first, honey," Abigail commented with a smile of her own as she looked at her husband. "It would be strange if we walked into a pizzeria dressed like this."

"I hate to admit this, but Abi's got a point," Riley said, turning on his iPod and listening to Van Halen. "Can we stop at my apartment quickly so I can grab a change of clothes, Ben?"

"Sure," Ben replied, turning on to another street that led toward the techie's apartment. It didn't take long to get there, and Ben parked in the closest spot, other than the handicap one, to the building. Riley climbed out of the car, and so did the treasure hunter.

"You don't have to come with me, Ben," Riley said as he walked toward the front door.

"I know."

"Geeze, you're impossible."

"I know."

Riley shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face despite himself as he climbed the stairs up the second floor with his best friend. Truthfully, he was glad that Ben was with him.

They stopped in front of his door, and Riley began to search for his keys. Ben's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he stopped the younger man. "What, Ben?"

"There's tape on the door," Ben muttered quietly, gesturing to where the door handle was. "Your lock's been picked."

Riley's face instantly drained of color. "Does that mean someone broke in?" he asked in a shaky whisper.

Ben nodded in silent answer.

The younger man swore under his breath. "All my technological stuff is in there," Riley said, pushing open the door even though his friend tried to stop him.

They both cautiously entered the apartment, seeing that papers and books littered the living room floor. But to Riley's immense relief, all of his expensive technological equipment was still there.

"Was anything of value taken?" Ben asked as he cautiously checked the bathroom and Riley's bedroom to see if anyone was still in the apartment besides them. "Money? Your stuff?"

"No," Riley answered with confusion from the living room as he opened a drawer on his desk that most of the papers on the floor had come from. Then, he froze. "Just…"

"Just what?" Ben joined Riley by the desk, seeing the deep confusion on his face. "Riley?"

The younger man looked up and met the treasure hunter's gaze. "All that's missing is a couple of maps from the museum."

A/N: The suspense is rising. Find out more of what happened in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!