Disclaimer: I do not own As The World Turns

Notes: I know not everyone watches the show proper or know what's happened in the past, so here's a recap: Lucinda used to be married to Jacobo Estaban, the ruler of a fictional South American country, Montega. They had a daughter named Sierra. Jacobo divorced Lucinda and kicked her out of Sierra's life; Lucinda went back to America, married a man named Martin Guest, and adopted Lily (Martin killed himself not long after, when they found out Lily's adoption was illegal; I assumed that was eventually straightened out). Years later, civil war broke out in Montega and Lucinda hired Craig to find Sierra. Loyalist forces won the war and Sierra returned to Montega to rebuild the country. A second war occurred and Lucinda adopted a Montegan orphan named Bianca Marquez. Then later, when Rose was found, Lucinda informally adopted her into the family. So Lucinda has a grand total of four daughters: Sierra, Lily, Rose, and Bianca. This makes me really want to do an AU series. "Growing Up Walsh" or something like that. Sierra currently serves as queen in Montega; Bianca works at the United Nations in New York.

Nikki Munson is the late Hal Munson's daughter (his only daughter, and the older half-sister to Adam, Will, and Parker). She's apparently involved in international diplomacy, as at the time of Hal's death, she was away on a Foreign Service mission. I make her a liaison to Malta here because I enjoy name-dropping; if I get the right inspiration she'll be included more fully in the story later.

Joe is Joe D'Angelo, who adopted Rose along with his wife Anna Maria (now deceased) when she was a baby, making him Jade's adoptive grandfather.

Part I – Chapter V

"It's nice to know I'm at least an afterthought, darling, but even a three-page e-mail is not enough, I'm afraid."

"Mother! For God's sake, don't scare me like that." Lily had been taking advantage of a personal day, a sleepy Friday morning, by curling up on the couch to watch television, and the sound of the front door banging open against the wall had sent her heart up into her throat. "You probably woke the boys, too."

"Good. You can never be too vigilant, Pussycat." Lucinda sat, unbidden, on the couch. "Just the boys? Why isn't everyone here?"

"It's Friday, Mother," Lily said, rubbing her temple. "The girls are at school. Holden's at the farm. And Jade left to visit Joe last weekend."

"They're with other people, at least. Good. Now. I did some checking on that Riley person."

"Mother…"

"Never. Too. Vigilant. I thought with all you've gone through you would have taken those words to heart by now. Then again, if you did, I'd be out of a job. In any case, it doesn't matter. His story checks out. I also found out that his organization is something of a love child between the United Nations and several countries' militaries, so I ended up calling Bianca and having a nice little chat with her."

"How is she?"

"Well, and very busy. As it turns out, she's one of the founders of the project. The war effort is turning up a lot of victims, so she's had her hands full." Lucinda sighed, looking annoyed. "I let her know about our current situation, since you and Luke insist on caring about that man."

"You mean…Damian?"

"Who else? Anyway, Bianca has a friend at the American embassy in Malta. A certain Miss Nikki Munson, if you can believe it. Malta's is not one of the militaries involved in rescuing trafficking victims, unfortunately, but Bianca thinks Nikki might be able to get Riley in should he need to go."

"That's—"

"Fabulous, yes, I know," Lucinda said, uninterestedly. "Though if it were me I'd swear on whatever they put in front of me that Damian's guilty as Cain."

"Mother!"

"Darling, after what he's put this family through…" She sighed, aggravated, at Lily's stubborn face. "I don't appreciate people who force me to handle a gun."

"As if anyone could force you to do anything, Mother," Lily laughed, despite the memory of Dante. "And thank you for doing this for me and Luke."

"How is he, by the way? His personal Public Enemy Number One pops up and then his," she bent her fingers in air quotations, ""father" is taken away for questioning for something as awful as slave trading."

"He was fine, actually, about Colonel Mayer," Lily said.

"Impossible."

"No, no; he was very casual about it." Lily frowned. "He doesn't want us whipped up into panic mode again, not after those awful twins or whatever they were, and Lucy's ordeal…I'm sure he's trying to be strong for Noah, too. Noah's holding up," Lily said before Lucinda could inquire. "Though last night, when we came back home…neither of them looked good."

"How so?"

"I don't know. They went to Luke's room at the farm to talk, and they both came down very pale and upset-looking. I snuck in to see them this morning; I did my "mommy thing"." She pressed her hand to her forehead to demonstrate. "They're not sick. And it's not about Damian being guilty; Meg called and said Damian went home last night, and in any case Luke seems sold on his innocence."

"Something to do with those two girls, perhaps? That must be doubly upsetting to them, as a gay couple as well."

"I'm sure that didn't help matters, but Luke came home looking a little unsettled. I asked Meg; she said she doesn't know, but that Jack was acting strangely, too."

"Then why not call him up?"

"He's on assignment. Margo sent him to Statesville to question someone related to the case."

"Not that awful Zoe character?"

"He didn't say, but she's the only person I can think of who'd be connected to the case."

"So you think Jack told Luke he was going to question her?" Lily nodded. "Well then of course they were upset! Why on Earth would Jack even mention that girl?"

"I don't know, Mother. I don't even know if he did, but she's all I can come up with." Lily chewed worriedly on her bottom lip. "I wouldn't be surprised if she did know something."

"She could be masterminding the whole thing, I don't care; I just want her out of my grandson's life!"

"You'll get no disagreement here," Lily said, unconsciously reaching for a pillow to hug to her chest. Lucinda stopped her halfway and instead opened her arms. Lily curled up against her mother, briefly marveling at how maternal protectiveness lasted.

"Detective Jack Snyder of the Oakdale Police Force. I'm here to question Gia Pinarosa."

Jack waited for what felt like hours for Zoe to be led to him. The orange of her prison uniform seemed to make her glow neon against her now longer black hair and the dark blue of her escorting officer's uniform.

"Haven't seen you in awhile," Zoe said as she was handcuffed to the table and sat opposite Jack. "Trial's over, you know. Questioning's moot."

"You were born as Gia Pinarosa in Malta, is that correct?" Jack said, ignoring her parody of small talk.

"Yes." Zoe slumped back sullenly in her chair, staring at Jack with eyes that made him nervous.

"And what were the circumstances that led you to live in America?"

Zoe visibly tightened up; her stared turned into a poisonous glower. "The Grimaldi had my mother murdered after she threatened to sue for her rightful inheritance. The cops looked the other way. You guys aren't too concerned with justice when there's a modern empire involved, are you?"

"Just answer the question."

"My grandfather didn't want me or Grandma staying in Malta."

"These are your maternal grandparents?"

"Duh."

"And your paternal—"

"My father ran out on my mother when I was a zygote," Zoe snapped, and Jack could almost see the nerve he had touched protruding against her forehead. "I don't know anyone from his side of the family."

"So Pinarosa is your mother's maiden name?"

"Yeah. You still interested in the "How I Got to America" story, or…?"

"Continue."

"My grandma's from America. She's got extended family here. We lived with them. I turned to a life of crime when I found out Damian Grimaldi was in America." She was smiling sarcastically. "Ran off with my boyfriend, pretended to be Zoe Finn, Do-Gooder Extraordinaire, and now you now the rest of the story. Paul Harvey. Good day."

"Cute." Jack resisted making a face at her. "Mind attaching names to any of these people?"

"You want my grandfather."

"Are you aware of any plans he might have in regards to taking revenge on the Grimaldi family?"

Zoe shrugged. "He wasn't planning anything when I left. As far as I know, in any case. He hates all things Grimaldi. Has since Giuliano denied him as his son."

"And you're willing to give us his name?"

"I know the man. He hates people. A real recluse. If you know he exists it's because he wants you to. You're looking for Salvatore Grimaldi. Oh, excuse me. Salvatore Pinarosa."

Despite who was in his presence Jack felt a thrill of excitement at hearing the name. "And your grandmother?"

"Flora Pinarosa. I doubt he's told her anything, though. Would defeat the purpose of sending her away to keep her safe. And before you ask, I don't know where either of them lives now. Grandma moved out of her in-laws' and won't tell me where she went. Grandpa hasn't been in contact since May, and he avoids keeping an address for too long."

"Have you ever heard of an organization called al-Majjaanan?"

"Nope. I've kinda been focused on avenging my mother for the past couple years, in case you haven't noticed. And I've been too distracted nowadays to do much outside research."

Her mouth stretched into a grin and Jack felt a slight chill crawling up his back. He stood, more quickly than he meant to. "That's it for now," Jack informed the attending officer. "We'll be in contact if there's anything else we need to—"

"How's Luciano doing?" Zoe asked brightly. "I think about him all the time, you know."

"Take her out of here," Jack said, looking directly at the officer.

"I have something for him," Zoe continued, almost in gleeful singsong. "And I know he's curious. Good old cousin Jack, coming to play messenger boy. Cop's got it." She jerked her head towards her escort. "Left pocket. Plastic baggie. It's magically not a bomb when he has it."

"It's removed from the investigation," the officer said evenly, looking sympathetically into Jack's torn face. "There is no necessity for you to take it, or even see it."

"No, there is a necessity," Jack said, his stare resisting the magnetic pull of the sadism emanating off Zoe's features. "I have an obligation to my family."

The officer reached into his pocket and withdrew the plastic bag. Jack went forward mechanically to take it. He gave into impulse and looked down, his eyes searching out the answer. When he found it, he looked up and determinedly kept his head straight and his gaze forward, refusing to watch as Zoe was released from the table and escorted back to what he suddenly, vindictively hoped was a cold, cockroach-infested prison cell. Wishing that someone would burn in Hell was usually reserved for the likes of James Stenbeck, but Jack knew he wouldn't mind seeing Gia Pinarosa there right alongside him.

There was an image. James and Zoe, en flambé. He allowed himself to chuckle his way out of Statesville and back into his squad car. He figured it would be the last time in a while that anybody in the family laughed.

"How did it get so late?"

"I decided to let you sleep," Noah said, stretching.

"I decided to let you sleep," Luke said, turning around; he had been at his dresser. Rather, his and Noah's. The spring semester was over but they weren't due to move into the sublet for another few weeks (Mr. Reese said the current residents decided to extend their lease; Luke blamed the machinations of Mr. Reese), so Lily and Holden had given their consent for Noah to move in with them for the interim.

"Who do you think's home?" Noah asked. He had attempted to get up, managing to put his feet on the floor before giving up and flopping backwards, feet still in their last position.

"Uh…Mom and Ethan. Why?"

"Just wondering."

"Just wondering because you want to know who'll be here when Jack gets back, or…" Luke crossed the room and stood over Noah, placing his hands on Noah's knees and leaning over, "just wondering for something else?"

"Yes." Noah mustered up enough energy to sit up, fit his hand around the back of Luke's head, and pull Luke back down with him, into a long, deep kiss. When Luke pulled away he tucked his head under Noah's chin; Noah's hand automatically went to run through Luke's hair and down the side of his face.

"There's no way you're comfortable like that," Noah murmured.

"Of course I am. I have the best pillow ever created. It's you who got a sack of bricks thrown on you."

"A sack of bricks that's pinning me to a big, comfy mattress. Huh. Not that bad. I'll take the crushing weight on my sternum if it means I get to stay in bed."

There was a long silence. "We have to face today, though."

Noah said nothing, but slowly sat up, allowing Luke to slide down him until he was kneeling by Noah's feet. Luke balanced his chin on Noah's knee and looked up. "It's probably going to be a bit. I'm sure Jack has to go to the station and report to Margo first."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Well…" Luke blew a long strand of hair out of his eyes. "We could, and really should, head over to the farm. You just got your family back; don't want them to think you're avoiding them. And I want to talk to Riley." He frowned, remembering Lujayn's teary eyes hiding behind her hands. "I'm thinking maybe we should get the Foundation involved with ex-pats like Nazli and Lujayn. There's so much they need. Host families, ESL teachers, therapy…at the very least the Foundation can raise awareness. Kim would probably love to do a special on it. And considering their story, we can tie it into our anti-homophobia campaign, as well."

Noah smiled, as much at the plan as the fact that talking about it put the life that had disappeared last night back in Luke's face. "I hear the wheels turning in there," he said, tussling Luke's hair.

"That creaking you hear is the rust. It feels like it's been forever since the Foundation was active."

"Yeah, not since—"

"Boys?" Luke was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Are you up yet?"

"Yeah, Mom," Luke called back, pulling himself up off the floor by grabbing his boyfriend's hand as Noah stood. "We're decent; you can come in."

"Ok." Lily opened the door. "Are you headed to the farm today?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because my mother is here, and she has to talk with Riley about the investigation. She found a way he might be able to get to Malta if he needs to. So I figured that if you three were headed over anyway, I'll bring the kids and we'll make another family day of it. I'm sure your father would love the company."

"Sounds like a plan." Luke glanced over to see Noah disappear into the bathroom, and then looked back at his mother to see her frowning at him. "What?"

"Are you okay, sweetheart? You were awfully quiet last night."

"I'm fine," Luke said, shrugging tightly. "Just…anxious, I guess."

"About Damian?"

"Yeah." Luke consoled himself with the fact that he had not lied yet. "You know how much they dislike him down at the station."

"Both Margo and Jack think he's innocent, though. And right off the bat. That's a good sign."

"Hmm…yeah." Luke's gaze darted to the bathroom, his escape. "I should get ready…"

"And I should go make sure Ethan hasn't destroyed his outfit." Lily swayed back, stopped short, and then stepped forward, catching Luke up in a hug.

"Mom?" Luke awkwardly raised his arms to complete the embrace. "What brought this on?"

"Now I need an excuse to hug my son?" Her hold tightened into a squeeze. "I love you, sweetie. That's reason enough." She went up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, before landing back fully on her feet and stepping away. "Hurry up, the both of you. Your grandmother does not like to be kept waiting." She was smiling as she disappeared behind the shutting door.

The bathroom door opened quietly, and Luke wasn't surprised to feel Noah replace Lily, for the exact same reason.

"L-lunch. Lunch. Please."

Lucinda, Lily, Luke, Noah, and Ethan entered the kitchen to find most of the farm's inhabitants and guests clustered in the kitchen, almost posed perfectly like a Leonardo da Vinci painting. Amira sat in the center, a few sheets of paper sporting mixed Arabic and English characters spread out in front of her. Lujayn and Nazli sat on either side of her, leaning over and squinting at the unfamiliar Latin alphabet. Ruth occupied the seat next to Lujayn, and Riley the one next to Nazli. Emma and Janet were busy fulfilling the request for a midday meal, and Meg sat apart, feeding Eliza in her high chair.

Ruth popped out of her seat upon seeing Noah but refrained from rushing to him when she saw his hand clasped tightly around Luke's. Luke instead was the one to extricate himself from Noah's grasp and give him a slight push towards his aunt. Luke thought he saw Ruth send him a brief, grateful look before she turned her head to kiss Noah on the cheek.

"I'm to assume that these two lovely ladies are Nazli and Lujayn?" Lucinda said, stopping at the counter to survey the scene.

"Yes," Emma said, turning around and wiping her hands on her pants. "And hello to all of you, too."

There was a smattering of mixed greetings before Lucinda continued. "So I'm safe in thinking that young man is Riley Morgan?"

"Yes," Riley said, rising. "May I help you?"

"Well, actually, I can help you. I assume you're acquainted with the name of Bianca Marquez Walsh?"

"Of course. She's the boss of my entire organization. How are you aware of her?"

"She's my youngest daughter, that's how."

"This is my mother, Lucinda Walsh," Lily interjected. "I told your aunt about my sister Bianca last night; I had no idea she was involved in this particular project at the UN."

"I called Bianca after I heard about yesterday's events," Lucinda continued. "She's in touch with the liaison to Malta. She says that if it becomes necessary she can probably use that connection to get you into Malta, in your official capacity."

"That's fantastic!" Riley's face lit up like holiday icicle lights. "I can't thank you enough."

"Riley—" Ruth began, but quickly bit back her protest. Noah felt her fingers close around his wrist.

"You didn't go with Jack this morning?" Luke asked Riley.

"I had to accompany Nazli and Lujayn to the hospital. Standard procedure," he added quickly, seeing the concern that manifested on Luke's face. "Thankfully they're clean from any diseases. It's fatigue, undernourishment, and trauma that we have to worry about, and the physician—Dr. Stewart—thinks helping them live and eat normally is all we can do for that."

Luke's eyes scanned Nazli and Lujayn. Their ripped and soiled black robes had been swapped—Luke imagined Emma, quietly gleeful, throwing them into the utility room to be made into rags—with conservative outfits borrowed from Meg and Janet, their hair tucked neatly under Emma's old bandanas. The clothes hung off the pair's scrawny frames, yet made them appear healthier than they had last night, or at least gave them an air of dignity. They were hunched over the table, seemingly devouring the new knowledge Amira was presenting them with as an appetizer to the meal Emma and Janet had in the works.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about them," Luke said. "And your organization. My idea is—"

The door opening and shutting interrupted Luke. Jack was taken aback for a moment upon seeing Luke and Noah, though he quickly recovered his composure and slipped his hand into his pocket.

"Hi, honey." Janet leaned over to give her husband a kiss. "How'd it go?"

"The questioning went surprisingly well," Jack said, slipping his arm around Janet's waist though addressing the entire room. "I wasn't expecting Pinarosa to be so candid. I already stopped at the station to brief Margo about it. "

"How is she?"

"Ah…I don't know. I don't think she should have gone back to work so soon. It's keeping her mind off Adam for now, but I bet that's not going to work for too long." Jack lightly chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, before turning his attention to Riley. "I heard the name again today. We're looking for Salvatore Pinarosa. Margo's calling Interpol to see what information she can get on him. The Pinarosa family is a pissed-off illegitimate offshoot of the Grimaldi and framing Damian for high crimes is right up their alley."

"You've dealt with them before?"

Jack nodded, his gaze darting guardedly towards Luke. "Back in April the girl I questioned—Gia Pinarosa—caused us a hell of a lot of trouble. It's no big surprise that the rest of her family would follow suite." He cleared his throat. "That's all we've got to work with for the moment, until Margo gets in touch."

"Just in time for lunch," Emma joked, turning the flame off from underneath the chicken she had been cooking. "Can someone go get Holden from the barn?"

"I'll do it," Luke said, a little too quickly, a little too loudly. Luke passed Jack, and Noah's hawk eyes saw Jack pull something out of his pocket and slip it to Luke.

"Excuse me for a minute?" Noah said two seconds after Luke had shut the door. He pulled out of his aunt's grip and power-walked past Jack, nearly shoving the door off its hinges as he exited the kitchen.

Luke was sitting on the bench, his head down, his right hand clenched into a shaking, blood-deprived fist.

"Luke, is that a…?" Luke nodded. "It's…it can't be…Luke, please don't tell that it says…"

Luke's voice was like melded-together, cracked desert sand. "It's positive, Noah."

The air suddenly disappeared from Noah's lungs; the last remnants of oxygen pushed out, "No."

"Luke? Noah?" The door leading from the front yard creaked open and Holden, having instinctively smelled lunchtime, entered the small vestibule. He saw his son, looking for all the world like he wanted to curl into a perfect ball, and Noah, who seemed like a touch with a feather would have sent him sprawling. "What's wrong?"

"Luke…" Noah croaked in half-hearted protest as Luke's fingers unfurled and his palm raised to present what Jack had given him.

"Oh, Christ…Luke, who? Faith isn't…for the love of God, Luke, don't tell me it's Faith."

"It's not Faith," Luke whispered. "It's Zoe."

"Zoe…Gia Pinarosa? You slept with—" Sudden, horrible realization and memories of Jack's ordeal flooded Holden's brain. Before Noah could register it in sight Holden had crouched down, putting one hand on his son's shoulder and using the other to tip Luke's chin up. "Why the hell didn't you say anything, Luke? We could've prepared for—" Anger fled, as suddenly as it came, upon seeing the look on his third child's face. "When did you find out?"

"Just now." Noah was astounded by the calm of Luke's voice. "Jack went to question her today; she must have given it to him then."

"Does Jack know what happened?"

"Yes. Jack and Noah." Luke's hand closed again, though not as tightly. "Now, you, and soon, everyone else."

"You don't have to say anything just now, Luke," Noah said, motor function returning enough to allow him to gently place his hands on Luke's head.

"I want to." Luke stood, as did Holden. "We said we'd keep it quiet unless it came to this."

"You know it might not be yours," Noah said quickly. "She was having sex with Zach. And you can't remember if…the heroin messed with his head," Noah said, turning his attention towards Holden, trying to keep the real and imagined memories away.

"Getting my baby was her plan from the beginning. I can't imagine she'd be dumb enough to risk having a child that isn't mine."

"The woman's insane, Luke! We can't even try to predict what she would or wouldn't do…" The gleam in Luke's eyes told Noah that he didn't believe that alternative. If Noah were ever to be honest about that moment, he would admit to doubting it himself.

The door to the kitchen gently swung open, with Jack leaning on the doorknob. Lily stood behind him, having given Ethan to Emma, her face growing darker and darker red with every passing second, her eyes glittering.

"The door…isn't exactly soundproof," Jack said softly.

Lily pushed past Jack and snatched the pregnancy test away from Luke. Her free hand flew to her mouth to unsuccessfully stop a cry of horror as she read the results. Emma with Ethan, Janet, Lucinda, Meg with Eliza, and Ruth crowded behind her, straining to see the scene that sound had imperfectly brought to their attention. Riley, Amira, Nazli, and Lujayn stayed at the table; the former two looking on in incredulity, the latter two in bewilderment.

"Sweetie, why didn't you say anything?" Lily asked, and any confusion was blown away with the tornado of her words. "We could have gotten you help."

Luke shrugged tightly. "I was talking to Jack. I didn't want to say anything to anyone else until it became an issue."

"It was already an issue! You were—" The first tear fell from her eye as the test fell from her hand. Holden and Noah crossed each other as they quickly switched places, to stand by their respective soulmates. "Oh, God, Holden, our baby was…"

Noah placed his hands on Luke's shoulders as he saw Holden do to Lily, but for a brief moment he considered that it was himself, not Luke, that he was supporting.

"Inside…inside, now," Lucinda said, taking Lily's arm and tugging her back into the kitchen. "Everyone! Please! God invented kitchen tables for a reason."

"Luke." Noah's fingers clenched against Luke's shoulders as he felt Luke begin to move. "You don't have to deal with this now."

Luke pulled himself out of Noah's grasp and turned to face his boyfriend. "Yes, I do. We both do."

"Luke, I…" Noah's hands seem weighted down, now just when he wanted to touch Luke, as if they had no right to make contact.

Luke heard the "I can't" before Noah was able to force it out of his throat. Noah watched as the sadness in Luke's eyes turned from acknowledgment of hazy past to clear present. Luke hadn't been the only one over the past weeks to wake up shivering in a frozen sweat, stomach churning like an angry ocean and mind working just as violently to drown the sounds and images that sleep had brought to the surface, hands reaching out to push away the ghost of other hands, ones sporting black nail polish and needles.

Noah never felt more worthless than now, as Luke reached up and pulled him into a long moment of comfort and understanding that Noah could not reciprocate, and as Luke gently peeled himself off his boyfriend and disappeared back into the house.

"Noah?" Ruth was the only one left standing in the doorway and, to her eyes, Noah was a toddler who had seen a dead, rotting squirrel in the yard for the first time. "I…I guess I can figure out what happened," she continued quietly, remembering the story of the kidnapping that had been wrapped up in Noah's explanation of Damian. "Were you…also…?"

"No." He looked down, needing something to look at that couldn't sympathize. "I was…bait. Just him. Just Luke."

"But you were there?"

"Yeah," Noah croaked out. "He came to rescue me. He was there because I was."

"Oh, Noah…"

"Don't." Noah turned away from Ruth's outstretched arms. "I'm not the one who needs that."

"Yes you do." Ruth determinedly stepped forward and put her arm around her nephew, her free hand coming up to pull his head onto her shoulder. "You need it too, angel."

Angel. Noah vaguely remembered being called that, once upon a time. Since meeting Luke, every once in awhile he would think the same of him: an angel, not fallen but forcibly pulled down. After Luke's confession in the hospital the image had changed, now showing wings covered in dirt where they had not been shredded.

And now, he thought, too drained and too addicted to reject the comfort he didn't believe he deserved, there would be a new devil in the world to rip off what was left of the feathers and bones and light, grounding Luke permanently in Hell.