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

*Notes – I've almost finish posting my prewritten chapters, so updates may slow down to one a week, but I'll keep trying to write/post regularly!

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Luke and Noah were still entwined when Eric came back to his office five minutes later. He glanced at them briefly before saying that an officer was heading out to arrest Tony, and that he would be brought to the station in a matter of minutes. Luke lifted his head the slightest bit off of Noah's shoulder before bringing it back down in an attempt at a nod. Eric seemed to understand, because he nodded back and left. Noah was silent throughout the entire exchange; his back was to the Constable, and he rather wasn't paying attention, or was just ignoring the man.

When Eric left the room, Luke vaguely realized that Noah wouldn't be able to move out of their embrace, even if he wanted to; Luke was squeezing him too tightly. Reluctantly, Luke relaxed his grip but kept Noah encased in his arms, desperately wanting to hold onto the damaged man who was making his heart ache.

"Did you hear what Eric said?" Luke murmured into Noah's ear, the words sounding too loud, too awkward, in the silence. A pause, then Luke felt Noah's cheek brush against his hair in what he assumed was a nod.

"Yeah." Noah mumbled back before dropping his arms to his sides and pulling away from Luke, releasing him from the hug. Cold air rushed in and quickly invaded where Noah's body had been moments before, and Luke desperately wanted to pull his boyfriend back to him.

"Are you…" Luke began to ask, before realizing how stupid his question would be. Are you okay? He's obviously not okay, you dumbass!

"Luke?" Noah asked, the tiniest glimmer of amusement in those blue eyes. "Did you just call yourself a dumbass?"

"What? No!" Luke yelled, cursing as he realized that he'd been talking out loud. The spontaneous swearing seemed to amuse Noah even further, and the slightest smile curved his lips, an expression Luke thought would've been impossible to make just minutes before. He silently vowed that he would continue to be an idiot if it meant that Noah would keep smiling, even if it was ever-so-slight.

"Sure you didn't." Noah teased, his voice lacking its usual confidence. But at least he's there, Luke thought, talking to me, teasing me.

Luke glanced at Noah from under his eyelashes, only to see the brunette staring at him with an expression of intense concentration on his face. "What?" Luke asked quietly, beginning to feel nervous.

"It's just…" Noah began before reaching out and smoothing a lock of hair back from Luke's forehead, "you know how much I love you, right?" There was an undeniable question in Noah's voice, and Luke felt the aching in his heart double as he realized how insecure Noah was feeling.

"Of course I know, Noah… and I love you, too. So, so much." Luke brought a hand up to Noah's cheek and pressed a gentle, slow kiss to his mouth. "And no matter what happens, that's not going to change."

"Do you promise?" Noah asked, sounding small. For the first time, Luke could truly see the little boy in Noah that had been beaten, repressed for most of his life.

"Promise." Luke whispered around the lump in his throat. He kissed Noah again, just resting his lips against his lovers, feeling the connection and reassuring himself that it was there, real, and that no one could come between them.

They broke the kiss just moments before there was a knock on the wooden door frame, causing both Luke and Noah to spin around. Eric was standing at the door, his face clear of any judgement.

"Anthon- Tony has been brought into the station. He's being held in the interrogation room right now." Eric stated.

Luke tensed despite himself, and Noah began rubbing slow, soothing circles on his back. "Can we talk to him?" Luke asked, knowing the question was just a formality; he was going to talk to Tony, whether Eric approved it or not.

"Follow me." Eric said as an answer, reminding Luke of their first meeting, weeks ago. Without looking behind him, he stepped out of his office and into the hallway, expecting Luke and Noah to follow – which they did.

Eric stopped in the middle of the hallway, his gaze on the door to his left. "You have five minutes." He said, his understanding expression belying the commanding tone he used. Luke chose to nod as an answer, walking past Eric and standing in front of the closed door that led to the interrogation room.

He felt Noah's presence behind him, and his low "You ready?" seemed to echo in the air between them. Part of Luke wondered how Noah could ask if he was ready, considering the virtual hell the last twenty-four hours had been to the brunette.

"No," Luke answered honestly, placing a hand on the door knob and feeling the cool metal beneath his flushed skin, "but let's go."

Luke pushed the door open, not quite sure as to what he was expecting to see; Tony sitting arrogantly, Tony raving mad, or something worse. Instead, the sight that met his eyes was Tony hunched over in his chair at the steel table, his eyes downcast. A low thump, thump, thump was filling the room, echoing rhythmically. Both Luke and Noah glanced about, looking for the source of the noise. Moments later, Luke realized that Tony was bouncing his leg underneath the table, smashing his knee against the metal. Hard, too, he realized, in order to be creating that kind of noise.

Luke turned to glance at Noah, only to be surprised by the familiarity in his boyfriend's eyes. Hearing Luke's silent question, Noah leaned forward and whispered, "It just, it reminds me of when I saw Kevin." The reminder of Noah's betrayal caused Luke's jaw to clench, but he quickly forced himself to relax, realizing he needed to just let it go.

Refocusing himself, Luke cleared his throat and called Tony's name. The brunette didn't flinch, didn't look up – nothing. "Tony?" Luke said again, a question this time, only to be greeted with the rising of that echoing noise.

Luke was about to try and again when he realized that Noah had stepped away from him, and was standing in front of the table. "Tony!" Noah yelled before slamming his fist on the metal table violently. Tony jolted ever-so-slightly, his eyes flickering upwards. Noah pressed his reaction, leaning over the table and hovering his face inches from Tony's. "Why the fuck did you do it? You have five seconds to start talking."

The cuss word, along with Noah's actions, caused Luke to take the smallest of steps backwards in surprise. His sweet, gentle Noah looked hard, uncaring. A tingle of fear trickled down Luke's spine – not of Noah, but for Noah – accompanying Noah's childhood confessions that had been playing through Luke's mind as if stuck on repeat.

"Now, Tony." Noah growled, bringing Luke out of his thoughts. Something in Noah's voice – the underlying threat, maybe – caused Tony's eyes to flicker in understanding. Looking like a lost and confused child, Tony's gaze travelled slowly from Noah to Luke, then back to Noah. He was about to look back down when Noah leaned in further, using his sheer physical presence to keep the other man's attention.

"Why." Noah demanded, that hardness that Luke had glimpsed multiplying by the second. Briefly, Luke realized that this was an insight into the man that Noah could'vebecome; cold, demanding, cruel. But he isn't like that – he rose past it. Despite the inappropriateness of the situation, Luke felt a rush of love for the man who was so much stronger than he thought, who had risen above the disgusting mess he had been forced to call a father.

Abruptly, Tony mumbled something, shaking Luke out his ponderings. "Repeat that." Noah commanded, Tony's garbled words as unintelligible to him as they were to Luke.

"He said you loved me" Tony's voice was clear, but none of that clarity was echoed in his eyes. "He said, he said you loved me, you loved me, you loved me you loved me you loved me…"

Shock had Noah reeling backwards until his back was flush against the concrete wall of the cell, while Luke looked on numbly, his gaze flying between Noah and Tony.

"What?" Luke choked out before remembering to breathe. Noah was yet to make a sound as he looked at Tony, a mix of shock and rage on his face.

"He said that you loved me." Tony repeated slowly, as if talking to a young child. "But you don't love me, do you?"

"What?" It was Noah's turn to choke out the word, followed by, "I… I loved you?" The question seemed so out-of-place, so random, that Noah was sure he'd misheard the man.

"That's what he said." Tony explained, matter-of-factly. Somehow, that was more frightening then his earlier ramblings. "The man, he told me that you loved me, but you couldn't be with me because of Luke, because of Luke. Because Luke wouldn't let you be with me."

"So you decided to kill me?" Luke asked, the words sounding foreign in his throat. "You decided to kill me?" He repeated, unable to say anything more.

"No, no no no no no!" Tony screeched, the steady thumping growing faster and faster. "He was going to take you away! That's all! Take you away, take you away, and then Noah was going to be with me, and I was going to be happy! But he lied to me, because he doesn't love me, and you're not away, and he's dead, he's dead, and none of its right!"

Luke heard the door click behind him, heard Noah's footsteps travelling down the hall before the door shut, and wanted nothing more than to chase after his boyfriend. Instead, he forced himself to ask one last question.

"They were going to kidnap me?" He asked slowly, carefully, hoping Tony would even hear the question through his diatribe.

"No!" Tony yelled yet again. "Take you away, take you away, so you'd be happy! Not kidnap, not kill. Killed like Ethan, killed like Reg, killed like mom, killed killed killed." With that, desperate sobs had Tony's entire body shaking, heaving in pain.

Luke took one last look at the raving man in front of him before turning on his heel and running out of the room, intent on chasing after Noah. He nearly smashed into Eric on the way out, and his wide eyes must've clued the Constable in on what happened.

"Bathroom." was all Eric said before rushing into the interrogation room, only to poke his head back out and yell, "I need back-up, and sedatives!" Luke paid him no mind though; he sprinted through the hallways, almost passing the public bathrooms before realizing what they were.

As soon as he stepped inside, an awful retching filled his ears, the kind that only comes from vomiting. Luke rushed into the only occupied, unlocked stall to find Noah squatting and wiping the traces of vomit away from his mouth.

"Noah, Noah baby." Luke whispered, crouching down beside Noah and rubbing his back gently. "Oh, baby…"

Noah slowly stood up and pushed past Luke, heading to the sink. He turned the tap on and gargled water before spitting it out. Splashing his face, he reached over to grab a paper towel when he saw Luke standing beside him, paper towel in hand.

"Let me." Luke said simply. Noah eyed him before closing his eyes, permission for Luke to do what he wanted. Within seconds, he felt the abrasive surface of the paper towel drying his face, blotting, not rubbing. Noah remembered how Luke would always scold Noah when he caught him washing his face at night with a washcloth. Blot, never rub!" He'd always tease before grabbing the cloth away from Noah. "You wouldn't want to wreck that perfect skin, would you?"

The memory of how normal everything used to be caused a strangled laugh to bubble up in Noah's throat, spilling over. Luke's ministrations paused briefly, but then he continued, slowly wiping the water away from Noah's face.

Noah felt Luke lift the paper towel away from his face, heard him crumple it into a ball and throw it in the garbage, but didn't open his eyes.

"Noah?" Luke asked, his voice low and calm. "Baby, can you look at me? Please?" Reluctantly, Noah opened his eyes, blinking against the harsh, artificial light filling the bathroom. "Thank you." Luke said softly, carefully.

"How can you even look at me?" Noah asked, watching Luke's eyes darken in confusion. "This is all my fault-"

"No!" Luke yelled, causing Noah to press his back against the sink counter in an instinctive response, flashing back to his childhood. Just as quickly, Luke was ghosting his hands over Noah's arms, his face, his chest, murmuring, "I'm sorry" over and over again.

Noah took a timid step away from the counter towards Luke, an silent acceptance of the apology. "No," Luke repeated, softer this time, "it's not your fault. None of it."

"How can you say that, Luke?" Noah cried, agony tingeing his words. "My father's behind this and Tony did what he did because, because…" Noah was unable to finish his sentence due to the sob building in his throat, cutting off speech. He moved to break away from Luke, but was stopped as the blonde set his hands on the counter beside Noah's hips, trapping him there.

"Noah, love, listen to me." Luke ordered, his voice still soft. "None of this is your fault. Got that? None. Of. It." Even though his words were strong, Luke's expression was loving, his voice gentle. "Nothing your dad has ever done, ever, is your fault."

"But Luke," Noah implored, trying desperately to make the blonde understand, "didn't you hear Tony? He did this because he said I loved him." Noah spat out the word 'loved', making is sound dirty, unwanted. "I must've led him on, or something!"

"No." Luke repeated, hands lifting from the counter to Noah's face, directing those agonized blue eyes to overfilling brown. "Tony's not sane, Noah. You did nothingwrong. He was manipulated, and you had no part of it." Noah opened his mouth again, and Luke pressed a hard kiss to it, shutting Noah up before he even had the chance to speak.

"Is it my fault that I was driving the car when this happened?" Luke asked when the kiss broke. "Is it my fault that because I was with my brother, he died? Is it my fault that I didn't protect him?" Luke voiced his fears, the ones that kept him tossing and turning in the middle of the night, causing him to wish he could turn back time but knowing that he couldn't.

"No!" Noah cried instinctively, looking shocked at the idea. "Of course not!" And for the first time, Luke believed him.

"Then how is this your fault?" Luke retorted, watching Noah struggle for an answer. "Noah, if you trust me about anything, trust me when I say that none of this is your fault. Okay?"

"Okay." Noah replied heavily. Luke could still see the doubt, the pain, behind those sapphire eyes, but chose to let it be – for now. The last thing Noah needed was an argument about this, and Luke knew that he wouldn't be able to convince his boyfriend of anything at the moment.

Switching tactics, Luke said, "At least we know, now." Noah looked up in shock, and Luke hastened to continue. "It's just, now that we know what's happening, we can make it better. The worst is over."

"Do you really believe that?" Noah asked, part sarcastic, part hopeful. "Promise?"

"I promise." Luke replied, unaware that it was a promise he'd be unable to keep.

**

Eric inhaled slowly, allowing the humid, warm air to fill his lungs. He was standing outside of the emergency exit door located just down the hall from his office, dry only due to the overhang above the door, watching as grey clouds rolled through the sky, bringing fierce rains and fiercer lightening.

Even as a child, he'd found something cathartic about thunderstorms, in the way rain sprinkled the earth while thunder crashed violently, a paradox that made perfect sense. This thunderstorm wasn't following his childhood memories – rain was pelting the ground, stinging anyone who was unfortunate enough to be caught under it. Lightening flashed, thunder clapped, and Eric watched through narrowed green eyes, unsure as to what he was looking for.

Letting his eyes take in the primal beauty of the storm, Eric allowed his mind to wander back to his investigation, and the man currently being interrogated – Anthony Olsen. He knew instinctively that the interrogation would lead nowhere; according to the files pulled up against 'Tony', the man had been flirting with the edge of insanity for months now, and apparently this incident had pushed him over. Not that Eric could blame him; his father was currently serving life in prison for murdering a police officer upon his second arrest – a fact that Eric hadn't mentioned to Luke or Noah – his boyfriend had died due to drugs that Tony had allegedly urged him to try, and his mother was in the psych ward herself after attempting suicide the month previous. That's enough to mess any kid up.

His mind was turning over every aspect of the case when flash of black caught his eye, standing out against the greyness of the world. Eric looked over to see a man marching towards him.

"Excuse me, sir!" He called out, yelling to be heard over the rumbling of the skies, "Access through these doors is not allowed; I have to ask if you could proceed to the front doors. It's protocol." The man rather didn't hear him or didn't care, drawing closer and closer. A tingle of warning shot down Eric's spine, but he quickly shook off the feeling.

Gradually, blurred details became clear, and Eric was able to make out a full length black overcoat, black leather gloves, and black boots. Briefly, an image of Sarah dressed up as a ninja from the previous year's Halloween flashed through his head, and he couldn't stop the nogalistic smile from spreading across his face.

The smile quickly faded when he got a good look at the man's face. Thin lips were pressed together in a firm line, eyebrows drawn low, and a jaw clenched. When Eric looked into those eyes, there was a determination, a cruelness, lingering so close to the surface of the steely blue orbs that Eric's tingle of concern turned into a flash of genuine fear.

"Can I help you?" Eric asked, ignoring the instinct to call out for back up. Casually, he let his free hand drift down to his hip, where his gun was. When his hand was met with air, he realized that his gun was in its holster… on his desk. The man's eyes flickered down, noticing Eric's nearly imperceptible movements, and a wide smile pulled at the other man's lips, stretching them in a way that made him look anything but amused.

"Yes you can, Constable Harrington." The man said, a mocking tone on Eric's title. "Did you know that she has green eyes, just like you?"

"Who?" Eric whispered before he could help it, all the while knowing what the answer would be. Sarah.

"I bet if she wasn't bald, she'd have blonde hair. And the way she lisps when she speaks too fast… simply adorable." The man continued, obviously aware of the effect his words were having on Eric.

"What have you done with her?" Eric asked over the thunder, over the roaring in his ears.

"Nothing, yet." The man said, stepping under the overhang and joining Eric. He stood next to the other man as casually as if they were waiting for a bus. He continued to look ahead, not paying Eric any mind as he asked, "Now, aren't you going to ask me who I am?"

Quick as the lightening that flashed around them, Eric dove to his right in an attempt to tackle the other man. Faster than he knew possible, the stranger ducked and stepped out of the way, causing Eric to hit the pavement and smash his head on the wall – hard. Just as quickly, he was up on his feet, his brain spinning with questions and his body struggling to right itself.

"Who are you?" Eric demanded, "What have you done with Sarah? Tell me!"

"First answer," the man replied, pulling his hood off to reveal greying hair, "I'm Colonel Winston Mayer. We've talked on the phone. You should be nicer to someone who's paying for your daughter's medical treatment." The only thing that stopped Eric from throwing a punch was complete, mind-blowing shock. "You're… you're him?" He asked before he could stop himself, "You're Noah's father?" He locked me in the trunk of a car for two days… he killed my mother and paralyzed my boyfriend…

"Yes, I'm his father," Winston said, a fanatical look entering his eyes, "and you're going to help me reunite with my son."

"No way in hell!" Eric shot back, his brain working slower than his mouth. A glint of silver, then there was a gun held inches away from his chest. The hand holding the gun was steady, and Eric didn't doubt for a second that this man would shoot him.

"Oh, I say you will." The Colonel said, nodding towards the gun. "After all, you're practically doing a good deed!"

"You're a monster." Eric whispered, echoing Noah's words, feeling more revolted by the second that he had accepted money from the man pointing a gun at him. Yet he couldn't bring himself to regret it; if he died, at least Sarah was safe.

"I am NOT a monster!" The Colonel screamed, jerking the gun. "My son's a deviant, and I'm going to correct that, and you're going to help me even if it kills you." With that, the calm exterior was back, and he was talking smoothly as if his outburst had never happened, like the calm surface of a lake hiding the chaos beneath the surface. "If you won't do it because of this gun, or because you want to reunite father and son," here, Winston chuckled, "then you'll do it for your daughter."

Once again, that numb fear swept over Eric's body, numbing him until even his rage felt icy. "What have you done with her?" He asked, keeping his gaze on the man's face and refusing to glance down at the gun that was slowly moving closer to him.

"Nothing, yet." The Colonel smiled, his tone as uncaring as if they were talking about the weather. "But I have friends, stationed outside the house. 1183 Redman Drive, am I correct?" Eric's sudden stillness was Winston's only answer, and that insane grin crept over his face just the slightest bit more.

"A red roof, picket fence, small dog in the yard. Quite the American dream house, isn't it?" He taunted, his grip never loosening on the gun, "until you look inside, to see the valuables, all sold to help pay for a sick girl's treatment. Damaged goods, shall we say? Hell, I don't know why you went through all of this to keep her alive."

Eric went from still to shaking, everything in him begging to kill the man in front of him, kill him for even daring to talk about Sarah that way. The only thing holding him in check was the blind fear of what would happen if he rose to the bait, and his innocent girl was hurt as a result.

"But now, I need you to do me a favour." The Colonel stated, smiling that mad smile again, "I need you to play dead for me." Eric never got his chance to answer as a gun shot, masked by thunder and a silencer, rang through the air. For a split second, there was nothing. Then pain, overwhelming, blinding pain consumed him, originating from his stomach. He looked down in a numbed shock to see blood trickle, then gush from a hole in his side. Not fatal… yet… he thought as he crumpled to his knees, hitting the pavement for the second time in minutes.

He wanted to scream, wanted to beg for help, but he couldn't force anything beyond a strangled moan, lost in the sounds of the storm. He tried to roll onto his side and cover the wound to stop the bleeding, but couldn't force the energy to move from his back.

Feeling something being set on his chest, light and small, Eric forced himself to listen. "Tell Noah Mayer to check that DVD." The Colonel stated cheerfully, patting Eric on the chest. "Oh, but you probably won't be alive to do that." A pause, then a voice whispered in his ear, "If it makes you feel any better, your Sarah is fine." With that, the Colonel was gone, disappearing into the storm.

The world flickered, then faded into a blurry haze as Eric's eyes slid shut and his body let go. Sarah's safe, was the only thing floating through his mind as unconsciousness licked at his mind, claiming him.

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A quick note about Tony - I know a lot of you are probably thinking that he's ridiculously OOC right now, but this isn't the Tony that we had a brief glimpse of on the show. I gave him a backstory, and he's not exactly sane. So don't expect him to be thinking logically, or to make perfect sense. Just thought I'd point that out. All feedback is greatly appreciated!