Disclaimer – If you recognize it, then I don't own it.

*Notes – Thank you so much to everyone that's been dropping feedback! It really means a lot to me.

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"I'm a father." Eric stated, picking the picture frame up from his lap and facing it towards Luke and Noah. The picture showed a little girl, around seven or eight years old, wearing a beach hat and a bathing suit. She was standing beside Eric, her little hand swallowed up by his, her face reflecting a mix of absolute trust and joy.

"So?" Luke asked quickly, looming over Eric. "You have a child, big deal. What does that matter to me?"

"Look closer." Eric sighed, pushing the picture towards Luke. He reluctantly picked it up, noticing the beach in the background, the bucket in the little girl's hand, and her hair… or lack thereof. She was completely bald; her wide brimmed beach hat had prevented Luke from noticing immediately.

"Luke?" Noah whispered, the one syllable expressing his confusion. Luke passed the picture back to Eric before grabbing Noah's hand for support.

"Cancer." Luke stated, more of an answer than a question. Eric nodded his head slowly, picking up the picture and hugging it to his chest.

"Leukaemia." Eric corrected. "She was diagnosed when she was five, and went into remission a year and a half later." Part of Luke wanted to force Eric to get back on topic, but he had a feeling that this story was important. "But the cancer came back when she turned eight, and it's much more aggressive than before. The chemotherapy and treatments seemed to be working, and I thought, 'maybe we can beat this'."

"O-kay," Luke replied, dragging the word out into two syllables. "What does this have to do with anything I want to know?"

"Just wait!" Eric snapped, the barely disguised anger in his tone causing Luke to take a step backwards. Just as quickly, Eric calmed and stroked his thumb across the picture's frame, an expression of wonder on his face. Luke felt the strong heat of Noah's chest against his back, and was grateful for it; something about Eric seemed unstable, like a volatile bomb, ready to explode at the slightest contact. Memories of those dark fingerprints on Dallas's neck rose to Luke's mind, and he shivered involuntarily.

"I'm a single father, Luke." Eric said, changing the topic yet again. "My wife… she died in childbirth. Sarah's the only person I have left in this world. And then my insurance company said we reached "our maximum lifetime benefits" and that we weren't eligible for renewal. Because of the leukemia, she is "uninsurable due to a pre-existing condition." Eric's voice was nearly a growl as he quoted what had been told by the insurance companies.

The hand holding the photograph began to tremble, and then shake so violently that Eric was forced to set it back on his lap. "They were going to let my baby girl diebecause they weren't willing to shell out a couple of extra damn dollars!"

Luke forced his face to remain impassive, but he knew that he was doing a rather poor job at it. After everything he'd been through with his grandmother and her bout with cancer, he knew how much it took out of both the person suffering and the family around them. He didn't say that, though; instead, he kept a steady gaze on Eric and waited for the man to continue.

"Get to the point." Noah commanded, the tenseness of his body against Luke the only cue that Eric's words were affecting him.

"I was desperate," Eric continued, now talking to Noah, "and I didn't know what to do. Money was running out, and the doctors suggested some new kind of therapy, one with a higher success rate. But I couldn't afford it. She was going to die, because of me." A single tear fell onto the glass of the picture, sliding down the smooth surface.

"So you needed money." Luke prodded, his tone less harsh than it he would've liked it to be. But how could he demand from a man who was in his own personal hell?

"Yes, I needed money," Eric repeated without batting an eye, "I would've done anything for it. Anything. I was preparing to sell my home when I was contacted by a stranger. He told me that he could directly deposit enough money in my bank account to pay for Sarah's treatment."

"And you believed him?" Luke asked, the words slipping from his mouth. "You believed a total stranger?"

"No, of course not!" Eric yelled, his eyes positively burning at Luke. "Not initially, at least. But then two weeks later, there was a call from the bank, confirming a transfer of money into my account. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to get Sara through the next month." The expression on Eric's face wasn't one of greed, or want; it was simply the desperation of a father to protect his child.

"I don't know how the man knew which account was mine, or how he transfered his money into it. All I knew was that the money continued to come in, every month, and I became too dependant on it." Eric shook his head regretfully. "Last month, there was a phone call instead of a deposit. The man told me that if I wanted the money to continue to come, I needed to 'do him a favour'. I was desperate." Eric said simply, no shame in his tone. "I asked him what he wanted."

"And he wanted you to murder my brother?" Luke yelled, fresh hatred for the man in front of him rolling through his veins like liquid fire. "How can you justify that?"

"God no!" Eric cried, jumping upright. "I would never, ever kill someone as innocent as your brother. Ever." Taking a deep breath, Eric continued. "He asked me if I was willing to do anything. I said yes. The man said that he'd call me back, and he hung up."

"Three days later, your brother's case showed up on my desk." Eric said, hints of remorse echoing in his voice. "He called me that day, and he told me that my job was to make the car crash look like an accident."

"Did he say why?" Luke cut in, breathing shallowly. Partly because of what he was hearing, and partly because Noah's arms were wrapped so tightly around his waist that he could hardly inhale.

"No, but he was furious," Eric replied, green eyes clouding over, "he kept saying that it went wrong, and that 'they were going to figure it out'."

"Who's they?" Noah asked gruffly, his arms continuing to pull Luke to him.

"You, I'd guess." Eric said simply. "You, or one of the Snyder's."

"So wait..." Luke butt in, "you were willing to cover up two murders, one attempted and one successful?"

"It was my only choice, Luke!" Eric cried. "Can't you understand that? I had no other option! It was rather forge these papers, hide these results, doctor these tests, or let Sarah die! I figured, I figured that the accident had already happened, and that it was too late for anything to be done, so it was okay!"

Noah's arms went from being comforting to constraining as Luke glared daggers at Eric, feeling completely repulsed. Noah tensed instinctively, probably expecting Luke to fight to break away, or to start hurling insults. Instead, Luke forced himself to relax and asked, "What results did you hide?"

Eric sat back down in his chair, defeated, and grabbed the frame picture again. "Remember a few weeks ago, when an officer contacted you about the mechanical work done to your car?"

"Yeah… her name was Lydia, I think." Luke said, straining back to remember the conversation. "She said that she believed someone I knew caused my car to break down, something about them knowing the layout of the car or something like that."

"That, and the fact that it wouldn't have looked suspicious if someone you were publicly friends with was by your car." Noah threw in, causing Luke to twist and look at him in surprise. "Hey, I can put pieces together, too." Noah added.

"But they weren't able to lift any valid fingerprints off the car, right?" Luke asked, watching as Eric hesitated in his answer. A cold wave descended upon Luke as he realized what had happened. "You changed the documents, didn't you?"

"Yes," Eric replied unflinchingly, "I lied. We managed to pull off several complete fingerprints, but I told the assisting officers and wrote in the official report that they were too poor of quality to use."

"Do you know who it was?" Luke asked, dreading the possibilities. Noah squeezed Luke for what seemed like the millionth time; a reminder that he was right there with him.

"Of course!" Eric replied, looking affronted that Luke even considered the possibility that he didn't. "I wanted to know what I was dealing with; I ran the prints off-the-clock and erased the information from the database after."

"Who… who was it?" Noah asked when Luke was silent for several moments. "Give us a name." The demand seemed to surprise Eric.

"The name that popped up was Anthony Olsen." Eric replied slowly, studying Luke and Noah's faces for any hint of recognition. When all he received was two blank stares, he sighed and said, "You might know him better as Tony, from your GBLT club."

"It's not a club." Luke said instinctively, even as shock barrelled into him for the countless time that day. When is this going to end?

"Tony… like Tony, Tony?" Noah asked carefully, as if he was expecting Eric to jump in and explain it as a slip of the tongue. "As in the Tony that dated Reg? The Tony that goes to school with us, the Tony that's our friend?"

"I wouldn't know," Eric responded before opening a drawer and digging deep through stacks of papers within it. "Here's a picture, though." He reached out a tanned arm and extending the picture to Luke, who stared at it for a brief second before snatching it from Eric's hand; his own hand was shaking so hard that he could barely see the photograph.

"Oh god." Noah whispered, looking over Luke's shoulder. Luke blinked rapidly and brought his free hand up to grab his wrist, stilling his hand. The photo was a mug shot, and Luke guessed that Tony would've been around fourteen. He looked young, yet hard; expressionless eyes staring back at him.

"Why?" Luke whispered, the one word congealing in his throat until it felt like it was choking him.

"His father robbed a convenience store at gun point, and Tony was in the car at the time." Eric explained. "When the police arrived on the scene, Tony's father fled the scene and drove for over twenty miles with the police tailing him. When they finally caught him, they arrested Tony as well. His record was erased after his trial, since he was a minor and his father was forcing him to help, but the documentation was still in the crime database."

"No," Luke corrected, still staring at the picture in his hand, "why did he betray me like this? I don't understand… I thought we were friends?"

Eric was silent, at a loss for words. Noah's whispered, "I don't know", but that did little to calm the chaos reigning inside of Luke.

"That's not important." Eric dismissed, reaching over and taking the picture back from Luke.

"The hell it's not!" Luke snapped, grabbing the picture back and ripping it in half. "The bastard was involved, and he had the nerve to apologize to me about Ethan!" Memories of that apology etched themselves in Luke's psyche; I mean it Luke… I'm sorry about everything. I wish I could change it.

"Unless he wasn't apologizing about Ethan." Noah pointed out softly. "What if he was apologizing for whatever he did?"

"No, no no no!" Luke cried, pulling out of Noah's arms. "Tony wouldn't do this! I know he wouldn't – there was a mistake, there has to be!"

"Luke… how well did we know Tony?" Noah asked, hating that he even had to raise the question. "We've only truly talked to him at the GBLT meetings. We don't really know what he was capable of."

"Do you think he would've done this, knowing that it Ethan would die?" Luke asked with the slightest hitch in his voice. "Do you really think our friend was capable of that, Noah?"

Noah held Luke's impassioned gaze for a long moment before dropping his head onto Luke's shoulder. "No," he said softly as a response, "I don't."

"Then bring him in for questioning and find out why!" Luke cried. Noah raised his head in confusion before realizing that Luke's question was directed at the Constable. "Please, Eric."

"I can't!" Eric cried, a heavy regret mixed with shame in his voice. "I need that money, Luke. I'm sorry, but I can't help you."

"Yes you can!" Luke replied quickly, watching as Eric opened his mouth to respond. Luke talked quickly, hoping to make the man listen. "Have you ever heard of the Luke Snyder Foundation?"

"Yeah…" Eric muttered, looking lost in the turn of the conversation, "it's that foundation for gay rights, isn't it?"

"That's part of it." Luke said with the smallest of smiles on his lips. "We also have a large section of the foundation dedicated to helping kids with illness and disease. I almost died when I was younger of a kidney infection," Luke stated, watching Eric's eyes widen in surprise, "and I wanted the foundation to support kids who went through the same stuff I did."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Eric quickly asked.

"It has to do with everything." Luke responded, feeling Noah step beside him while keeping one arm wrapped around his waist. "We can pay for Sarah's treatment, and help you with other expenses. You won't need to rely on this stranger anymore; we can help you."

"It's not that easy!" Eric snapped, standing up from his chair. "I'm already up to my shoulders in this mess… I can't just end it, just like that."

"Why not?" Luke asked, genuinely confused. "I can tell you're a good guy, Eric. You were trying to do what's right for your kid, and no one can blame you for that. Do what's right for both your kid and your career now. Noah and I won't tell anyone about this… just tell the truth."

Eric shook his head violently from side to side in response. Luke was about to try a different tactic when Noah's low baritone filled the room, a commanding tone in it that Luke and Eric were helpless to resist.

"What do you know about the man you're working for?" Noah asked, his voice sliding over Luke like a dark chocolate, rich and dark with just the hint of something more beneath the surface. Eric simply gave Noah a blank look in response, so Noah added, "Colonel Mayer."

"I don't work for him," Eric whispered, and continued, "nothing, really. I do what he asks, and that's that."

"You're a father, right?" Noah asked, causing Luke to raise an eyebrow. What's he planning?

"You know that I am." Eric replied sharply, picking at a hangnail on his thumb – a nervous tick, Luke realized. "Why?"

"As a father, you'd do anything to protect your daughter, right? You'd die for Sarah, move mountains for her. Right?" Noah pressed, seemingly oblivious to the way that Eric tensed at his words.

"Noah, what are you doing?" Luke whispered into his ear, beginning to grow concerned. Noah didn't reply to him though; he stared at Eric, blue eyes shadowed and yet somehow clear.

"In a heartbeat." Eric said, his voice showing complete conviction. Luke's head swivelled from Eric back to Noah, feeling as if he was watching an elaborate game of ping pong.

"So then, you're okay with protecting a man who knew nothing about being a father?" Noah asked in that same dark tone, unintentionally seductive. "You'd be fine with protecting the monster that I lived with for eighteen years, all the while knowing that there's another option?"

"Noah…" Luke whispered, not sure if he wanted to know where this conversation was heading. Eric was drinking in Noah's every word, and Luke could practically see his previous decision wavering.

A light entered Eric's eyes as he said, "He can't have been that bad. Just because he didn't let you party out all night or have girls over, that doesn't make him a monster."

Luke could literally feel his teeth grind at the Constable's callous statement. He was about to make a sharp retort when Noah squeezed his waist lightly, a silent cue to be quiet. Luke reluctantly obeyed, but brought a hand up to cup Noah's cheek briefly first.

Their interlude was broken when Noah turned back to Eric, his eyes darkening – not in fury, but some other nameless emotion – as he spoke. "You're right; that wouldn't make him a monster. But if I told you that he locked me in the trunk of a car for two days because I got a B on my science report in grade four? Would that make him a monster? If I said that he killed my mother and paralyzed my boyfriend for months, would that make him a monster? If I said that he made me feel so worthless that I wanted to die throughout most of middle school, would that make him a monster?"

Eric's face was chalky pale, a slow hand running through his hair. "Yes," he whispered, "it would."

"Then I think you should do what you know is the right thing." Noah urged, leaning ever-so-slightly into Luke's warmth. "Say you pulled a usable fingerprint, arrest Tony, and figure what the hell is going on before my father can hurt someone else." A brief pause lingered before Noah added "Please."

Eric stood silently in the middle of the room, his indecision smothering both Luke and Noah. A small part of Luke was worried that they pushed the volatile Constable to far, but he barely paid that part of him any attention. The larger, screaming part of him was trying to digest Noah's words – trying to, and failing. Locked in a car for two days? He wanted to, to kill himself?

Noah was almost convinced that Eric was going to ignore his plea's when he silently picked up his office phone and dialled a number. Noah found himself clutching Luke to his side when he heard the Constable say in a hardened tone, "Anna? Can you page Detective Jack Snyder and tell her that we have a lead on the Snyder investigation? He's asked to be updated on the case. What about? Tell him that we've lifted a set of prints off of the car that belong to an Anthony Olsen." Noah's entire body went numb as he listened to Eric prattle off information on where to find Tony. "Tell Jack to bring the suspect to the station immediately; I need to question him."

Eric unceremoniously hung up the phone before walking over to stand in front of Luke. "I'm going to need the help of your foundation." He said simply, watching as Luke nodded in response. Eric grabbed Luke's hand and shook it before walking to the door. He opened it before pausing, then turned around and looked at Noah. "I'm sorry," was all he said before he walked out of the room, the door shutting shut softly behind him.

As soon as Eric was gone, Luke turned and had Noah's face between his hands before Noah knew what was happening. "God, Noah." Luke whispered, his thumbs stroking across smooth skin. "Do you want to talk?" He asked helplessly, wishing their was something, anything he could do.

"No." Noah whispered back, leaning forward until his forehead touched Luke's. "Can you just, just hold me? For a little bit… please?" Noah had barely finished the sentence when Luke pulled him tight, so close that it felt as if he could simply sink into Luke's skin and be with him, always.
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