The Search – Chapter 10

RESCUE MISSION

Noah found himself in a small boat in the middle of the night. The boat was quietly gliding through the water towards the beach. The beach that is part the island where his Luke was

being held captive. Noah saw nothing but darkness around him, there was no moon and the stars were hidden by clouds. Even the water was black. As their boat came closer to the

shore Noah could see a small light on the beach. It seemed to be moving left and right, as if someone was holding it and signaling their boat. Noah knew Max had contacts on the island,

but was still surprised at how stealth everything seemed to be. He never imagined that he would be in this situation. He was a film student, a friend, a boyfriend, hell he served coffee at

a local coffee shop for 2 years. Now here he was in the middle of the Mediterranean in a small boat in the middle of the night, sneaking onto an island full of men with guns. No matter

how hard he tried he couldn't quite wrap his brain around this situation. All he knew was that Luke was somewhere on that island, and that he needed to find him and tell him how much

he loved him, and beg him to forgive his stupidity. Noah knew that he would do what he had to in order to achieve that goal. His father had taught him how to fire a gun and how to

handle himself in hand to hand combat. His father taught him things that would help him become a man in his eyes, things that would help him in this situation. How ironic, that the

lessons the Colonel had taught him would help him save the man he loved. The Colonel probably wouldn't appreciate the irony, but Noah actually smiled when he thought about it.

Noah was brought of his thoughts by Max, "Mayer, snapp out of it. Where ever you are you need to keep your focus here. Do you understand me?" Noah looked over at Max and

nodded. He would not mess this up, Luke needed him whole, and he would be there for him. He felt an arm on his shoulder, and turned his head to look at Holden. He was smiling at

Noah, looking at him, as though he knew what he was thinking. "It's alright son, we'll get them home soon." Noah couldn't find the words to express how much he appreciated the way

Holden spoke to him, how he reassured him. He just smiled and nodded. They reached the shore and Noah jumped out of the boat and helped push it onto the sand, his mind racing, "one

step closer to my love….I'm coming for you Luke."

Meanwhile in the compound

Luke woke up to the feeling of someone touching his hair. He opened his eyes slowly, turning his head to the side where he knew the person who was touching him was. As his eyes

adjusted to the light the figure became more pronounced. Luke gasped, as he saw the face of his biological father. Tears stung his eyes and slid down his face as he shook his head in

denial…"Damian, no.. this isn't happening. It was just a bad dream, I'm not really here, I need to wake up….I will wake up and find Noah in bed next to me." Luke saw pity in his father's eyes

and that alone brought forth anger that was seething inside of him. "Luciano, please you have to accept the truth. I wouldn't lie to you son." He kept stroking Luke's hair while he talked in a

soothing voice, almost like he was trying to tame a wild animal into trusting him. Luke's anger subsided and he felt himself fighting to keep his eyes open. He turned his head to the other

side of his bed and saw a nurse standing at his I.V. injecting it with a clear fluid. "Not again, please, I don't want to sleep again." He turned towards Damian, "please… tell her to stop…please.

No more dreams, I never want to dream again….it hurts too much." Tears flowed freely from his eyes and Luke couldn't fight the drugs any longer. He was between sleep and consciousness

when he heard Damian, "it's alright, son, I'll take care of you. We're a family now and nothing will take you from me again." Luke was consumed by darkness once more.

All of a sudden the darkness lifted and he was at the farm. The smells and sounds of Christmas surrounded him and someone was smiling at him.

He could see the worry in Noah's eyes, as he stood there looking out at the barn where he had just walked from, 'Luke I promised your dad I wouldn't let you get too tired.'

He couldn't help but smile at Noah, teasing him, 'come on, I am the furthest thing from tired. I could walk all the way to Chicago and all the way back.'

'Okay, well then why don't we walk together to the pond tomorrow?' Luke could see that Noah was not going to be deterred by his reassurance that he was fine. Oh, how he loved to see the way Noah looked at him, he couldn't help but grab onto Noah's jacket, not for support but just to touch a part of him.

As Luke moved around Noah, releasing his hold on his jacket, he decided it was best to change the subject, lest he grab hold of Noah and kiss him deeply…'okay, so are you ready for the chaos to begin? Don't even try to think about sleeping past 6 in the morning. Last year Natalie literally pulled me out of bed.'

He could see the excitement in Noah's face and could hear the happiness in his words... 'I'm excited about it, I like chaos, Christmas with my father was very orderly.'

Luke looked away and down at his feet, he didn't want to think about the Colonel at this happy time…'I don't want to talk about that.'

He could see that Noah felt the same way… 'yeah, actually I…..I don't either, let's not.'

Luke watched as Noah reached into his inside jacket pocket, as he said his name with a slight tremble in his voice…'Luke?'

He could feel the butterflies stirring in his stomach, fear beginning to take over, 'yeah?'

Luke could tell that Noah was nervous, he was staring at his hands, hands that were now holding what he had pulled out of his pocket…'growing up with my dad, um, well, we never talked very much, but we definitely didn't talk about…'

Luke tried to reassure him, he knew how hard it was for Noah to express himself, and he didn't want to force him into doing something he was not comfortable with, so he placed his arm around Noah, showing him that he didn't need to say anything, Luke knew already…. 'look, look, look…it's okay, it's okay…. I know I talk enough for both of us…'

Noah though would not be deterred and it scared Luke to death.. 'but, there's um … there's something I need you to know.'

Luke looked down at what Noah was handing him, his hand slightly shaking, he took what appeared to be a card inside an envelope and opened it. 'Luke, I wish I had your way with words but I don't. Thank you for never giving up on me, even when I pushed you away. Being with you has made me happier than I've ever been. merry Christmas, love Noah.'

Luke could feel the knot in his throat as he read these words of love from Noah. It was the most wonderful feeling he has ever had. Luke knew that he would never read anything so wonderful ever again. He knew too, how hard this must have been for Noah… 'do you mean that?'

Noah nodded, still not looking at Luke directly, 'every word.' Luke couldn't help but smile as he placed his chin on his boyfriend's shoulder and teased…. 'so….you can write it, but you can't say it.'

Luke could see how Noah battled with himself, still not able to look at Luke directly, 'it's not something we really grew up saying in my house… I never really felt comfortable….' As he stumbled through his words, Luke could see the determination in Noah's face as he turned to Luke and looked him right in the eyes, 'you have to know how I feel about you..' God, how Luke wanted to just take his face in his hands and kiss him senseless, show him how much he loved him too. But all he could do was nod at his boyfriend, momentarily speechless.

As Luke and Noah walked back into the house, Luke noticed the mistletoe that was hanging over the archway leading to the pantry. He led Noah towards it, 'look up.' They both laughed as they realized just where they were standing. Luke couldn't hold back any more, 'you're card, um… when I first came out, it was fine, but I was lonely. I looked at Will and Gwen and Casey and Maddie, and thought, that is something I am never going to have. Not just the attraction, but, I don't know…just the feeling of walking into a room and having somebody who is happy to see you. You know….not having to say everything or spell everything out, but still having somebody who knows what you mean. And I think … I think these feelings have a word…..and you don't have to say this back… you don't have to say this back, but, I love you Noah…I'm sooo in love with you.'

Luke could see the struggle in Noah's face, he knew that Noah loved him, and he really didn't expect Noah to be as open as he was. Luke knew that he wore his feelings on his face, and that for Noah this was a foreign concept. He just wanted Noah to know how much he loved him. He wanted him to feel his love. Luke watched as Noah pursed his lips, fighting with himself to say something back to Luke's declaration of love, 'Luke…..same here?' Luke couldn't help but laugh at Noah's statement. He knew this was a giant step for him, and he knew that someday Noah would utter those words to him, but for now he was satisfied. They leaned into each other, Luke holding himself up with his cane, until he felt Noah's arms wrap around his waist. He knew Noah would hold him up as long as he needed. Their lips barely touched at first. The kiss was soft and inviting. Luke looked up to see Noah's blue eyes darken with something he'd never experienced before, lust. Noah brought his head back down and at the same moment raised Luke up and pressed him flush against his body. This kiss was different than any they had ever had. Noah sucked on Luke's bottom lip then passed his tongue over it asking for permission. Luke was more than happy to give it. He opened his mouth and heard Noah moan as their tongues connected. He wasn't sure if he was moaning as well, but he knew that he wanted to get closer, and it seemed that Noah had the same idea, as he pulled Luke tighter into his embrace. He could feel how much Noah wanted him; he could feel it against his hip, as he was sure Noah could feel his desire. It seemed as if Noah was trying to climb inside of Luke through his mouth. The sound of a door opening broke them apart, and they both turned red at the sight of Luke's father catching them in such a compromising position.

Luke woke with a start. He was still lying in the hospital bed, and that realization brought tears to his eyes. "A dream…it was all a fucking dream. Oh Noah, why… why couldn't we have had

that life? I miss you so much. Please…tell me it was real…tell me you loved me too. Pleeease." With that he couldn't hold back any longer, his body began to shake with uncontrolled emotions.

He cried in agony and couldn't seem to stop. What he didn't know was that from behind the large glass in his room stood Damian and the man who stole his memories.

"When will he stop having these dreams, Kreiger? I need Luciano to be whole again, and if he can't stop having visions of his past life, I will never be able to convince him that he belongs with me."

Krieger could hear the threat in Damian's voice, so he did the only thing he could think to do; lie. "Damian…." he stopped and backtracked when he saw the look in the other man's eyes,

"Mr. Grimaldi…you're son is very stubborn. His mind is trying to rework itself and figure out what has happened. It is only a matter of time that the dreams stop. With the medication I've told you

to give him, his subconscious mind should begin to catch up with his conscious mind. Just give it a little more time." Krieger could feel his palms sweating; he knew that if this man did not

believe him, Kreiger would find himself at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. "Fine, I will give him some time…but know this Kreiger, if you are lying to me, you will pay severely."

Kriger watched as Damian walked out of the room, and let go of the breath he was holding. He looked into the room and noticed that Luke's body was still shaking, he was still crying.

"I'm sorry kid, I had no choice. I just hope I can get out of here before you figure out what he did. Hell, I actually hope you get out of here without permanent damage, and not just to your mind."

He couldn't believe he was thinking this, but working with Damian Grimaldi may have damaged him permanently too, if Kreiger were a religious man he'd say he damned himself when he

signed on to work for Damian Grimaldi. "I hope they find you soon kid, before he has a chance to finish what he started."