A/N: Just a few more chapters to go before we wrap up! The next one will be fluffier than your favorite bunny, I can assure you. Please enjoy!

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The adrenaline surged through his system like white water rapids, causing every muscle, every vein, and every appendage of his body to be on high alert. All of the events in the night had culminated in this. He had hoped – no, prayed – that it wouldn't end up happening this way. That Cody would have enough decency to respect the boundaries of another human being. That the benefit of the doubt that the boys had given him all of these years would not have been in vain.

He could see the fury in his best friend's eyes – Toby was livid. His jaw was clenched powerfully in preparation, the wheels turning rapidly in his brain. It was as though he had passed the point of being angry – he was vengeful. Holmes knew that what would come next would be something he could not stop. Perhaps something he would not want to stop. He felt sick to his stomach at the prospect of what Cody had done. To have such disregard for a person…Holmes didn't know how he could live with himself.

The image of Spencer about to collapse at the top of the stairs, her face drenched in tears, would be a picture that Holmes would be unable to erase from his memory. The way that Hanna had shrieked her name in utter hysterics, the way that Toby treated Spencer with such love and dignity despite his primitive protective instincts thrashing to be released…Holmes knew that Jeff Cody had not only crossed the line this time, he had all but launched himself over it out of a goddamn cannon.

He tried something. Holmes knew he did. And he had had the sinking feeling all along that he would…it was only a matter of time. Cody was a stubborn son-of-a-bitch that would do anything to get what he wanted. And there she had been, topless, fleeing from her apartment in hysterics. Only Toby's coat draped over her shoulders provided her modesty. Modesty that she may have difficulty ever getting back.

As Toby marched through the front door of the apartment, Holmes was hot on his heels. He had tried so hard to keep Toby calm the entire night; now, he found himself unable to remember why. Had he been in Toby's shoes, he would have felt equally as infuriated. Equally as protective of the woman he loved. Cody had completely disregarded the feelings of an innocent girl, simply for the sake of proving a point to Toby. He had to pay.

The sight sickened him. Both he and Toby paused momentarily to interpret what they looked upon. There was Cody, cursing under his breath as he pulled his pants back up. He had what distinctively resembled a bite mark on the side of his forehead. The disarray of the furniture indicated that a struggle had certainly taken place. Holmes was openly proud of Spencer for putting up a fight.

"You fucking prick," Toby growled. Before Cody could even turn to find the source of the voice, Toby had already lunged toward him, pinning him back to the floor. He clasped one hand around his throat, the other delivering a swift blow to the side of the head. Cody swore loudly.

"C'mon, man!" Cody cried angrily. "The little bitch already kneed me in the nuts!"

Good, Holmes thought. Toby, however, only seemed to hear the part where Cody insulted Spencer. He had lifted Cody by the collar and bodily thrown him into the coffee table. Glass shattered in a million directions, dispersing like a rainstorm. Cody lay facedown inside what was left of the table's frame, groaning heavily and attempting to turn himself over. Toby stood over him menacingly, massaging his bleeding knuckles, watching as he pathetically attempted to crawl away. Just as Cody had clutched onto the couch cushion to pull his weight up, Toby kicked him swiftly in the ribcage. Cody collapsed again, coughing profusely.

Twistedly voyeuristic as he felt, Holmes sat idly by, looking onward. He leaned back against the living room wall and crossed his arms, observing the events unfolding before him. Toby was angry. No – beyond angry. But somehow, he was controlling the animalistic urge to simply murder Cody on the spot. He was remaining calculative and cautious.

Toby got down onto the floor, kneeling one leg purposefully upon Cody's chest to keep him down. Cody wheezed, blood trickling from his nose.

"Now. How about you tell me what the hell happened here?" Toby inquired dangerously. Despite his even tone, Holmes could hear the malevolence behind it. It was as though Toby had drawn a curtain over his anger: it was still present, and it was a driving force…But he wisely was neglecting to let it control him. He knew he needed to keep the upper hand, and that giving in to the blind rage he was feeling would only make him that much more vulnerable.

"She fucking came onto me," Cody insisted, his voice choking slightly from Toby's weight upon his sternum. In response, Toby leaned more deeply onto him, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Wrong answer," Toby hissed.

"Okay!" Cody conceded, grasping at Toby's knee in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure on his lungs. "I tried and she didn't want to. Okay?"

"No. Not okay." Toby had lowered his face dangerously close to Cody's, his azure eyes burning into him as though he were willing lasers to come from them. "You see, I found her crying in the hallway. Topless. You want to tell me why that is?"

Cody whimpered in slight, trying to lift his body away. Toby slammed his knee down once more. Cody moaned in agony.

"Did you try to make her do something she didn't want to do?" Toby demanded.

"No!" Cody cried. Toby immediately backhanded him across the face with a deafening crack. Holmes would have heard it from downstairs.

"Fine, FINE!" Cody hollered with a sneer, trying to preserve some semblance of his manhood by lifting his head to meet Toby's eyes, as if accepting the challenge. "I pushed her down and tried to take her clothes off." Cody smirked in slight, the split across his lip making the expression more sinister. "But if you ask me, I think she liked it."

"Shut the fuck up!" Toby yelled, thrusting his palm into Cody's Adam's apple. Cody cried out, tears involuntarily seeping from his eyes.

"You're only jealous because she was with me tonight and not you. Doesn't that tell you something?" Cody demanded. He seemed dead set on not letting Toby's intimidation emasculate him, his pale green eyes spitting daggers in their wake.

Toby released a guttural sound that reminded Holmes of something from Animal Planet. He had lifted Cody off his feet once more and thrown him towards the wall to his right. Pictures tumbled down over Cody, who clung to the wall in writhing pain. He spit out a tooth that had come loose, glaring in Toby's direction.

"Kicking my ass isn't going to make her love you, you know."

Holmes chanced a glance at Toby. The younger boy was subconsciously massaging his knuckles again, as though deciding what his next move would be. He inhaled deeply, a slight tremor audible in his breath.

"No, it won't," Toby agreed, "but it will make you bleed."

And suddenly, he lunged toward Cody once more, foregoing all discernible traces of the control he previously had. It was a flash of fists and scarlet blood, both men hollering wildly in indignation. Cody was fighting back now, despite his plethora of injuries. Toby's blind fury was serving as immunity to the pain, however, as he continued to thrash at Cody as though his life depended on it.

"HOLMES!" Hanna shrieked from down the hall. "HELP!" Holmes stopped dead in his tracks, snapping back to reality. He dove into the tussle, narrowly missing a few rogue punches along the way. At long last, he had successfully grabbed Toby by the arms from behind, pulling him away from a barely-conscious Cody on the living room floor.

"Let me go!" Toby growled harshly, flailing against Holmes's hold. Despite his primal instincts driving his fighting force, Holmes was stronger than he was and held him at bay easily.

"Cavanaugh…CAVANAUGH! Listen to me!" Holmes cried, wheeling Toby around to look him square in the eyes. "You taught him a lesson, man. It's done. This needs to stop now."

There were tears streaming down Toby's cheeks, his breathing rapidly wheezing from his lungs. "Don't you understand?" he demanded, a slight crack in his tone. "He tried to force her!"

"I know," Holmes sympathized sternly, shaking Toby by the shoulders. He was now cradling his head in his own hands, his tremulous breaths loudly echoing throughout the apartment. "I know he did. But we need to help her now. Okay?"

As if on cue, Holmes heard Hanna's cries reverberating down the hallway once more. "Holmes! She needs help!"

Toby's eyes widened at the call. Without another thought, he was darting around the couch and back out the door. Holmes followed quickly behind him.

There sat Hanna, Spencer cradled in her lap. Hanna was sobbing hysterically, shaking her friend helplessly.

"She – she fainted!" she bawled. "I don't know what happened!"

Toby was frozen in fear; he leaned against the wall opposite Hanna, slowly sliding down into a sitting position. Tears were openly pouring from his eyes now as he stared at the love of his life, bruised and unconscious before him.

Holmes kneeled down and gently put his hand on the back of Hanna's head, turning her face to him. "Hanna, listen to me. Hanna – focus."

Hanna's whimpers quieted in slight as she gazed at him desperately. She hugged Spencer tightly to her chest.

"I'm going to take Spencer to her room," Holmes explained calmly. Despite the exterior, he was trying his damnedest to quiet the frantic shouting that was echoing in his own brain. "And then you need to call the police."

"Police?" Hanna whispered indignantly. She looked entirely scandalized at the need.

"It was a sexual assault," Holmes confirmed. His heart broke a bit at Hanna's sob of reply.

"Listen, I'll take care of her," Holmes promised. Hanna's grip on Spencer faltered hesitantly as he lowered himself to lift the small-framed girl into his arms. Hanna was on her feet beside him in an instant.

"What should I say?" Hanna demanded, pushing her tears away impatiently with the palms of her hands.

"The truth," Holmes declared. "That it was an attempted rape."

Hanna sniffled hard, wincing at the word. Nevertheless, she was pulling out her phone and heading down the stairs to make the call.

"Cavanaugh," Holmes quietly called. Toby flinched as if punched, turning to look at Holmes without question. "Cavanaugh, I'm going to take her to lie down."

Toby was on his feet in an instant.

"No," Holmes decided. "You need to calm down first. When she wakes up, seeing you this upset too is only going to send her to pieces."

Toby seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding vaguely.

"Take a few minutes. Meet me in there when you're ready."

With that, Holmes adjusted his hold of Spencer and headed for the apartment door. As he passed Cody, still collapsed on the floor, he took a moment to glare down at him.

"The police will be here any minute," he stated definitively.

Cody scoffed, clutching at his ribs in pain as he did so. "Well that's fan-fucking-tastic…" he muttered.

"Sure is," Holmes agreed. "And when you get to prison, I can only hope that some sick fuck named Bubba takes a liking to you."

"Go to Hell," Cody grumbled.

Holmes was turning toward the hallway now. He smirked to himself before he replied. "Sure thing. I'll be saving you a seat."

TO BE CONTINUED