I want to apologize for taking so long to update this story; I wrote other fanfictions after I lost the will to write this one but today I reread the whole thing and I am motivated back again. I want to make sure Ethan and Jayden find Shaun and I hope that, whoever is reading this (If there is anyone reading this), forgives me and feels the will to keep reading it just as I will to finish it. I think it would be better if you read the whole story again - To remember everything, especially future references I won't want you to miss - but that is up to you. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and, once again, forgive me for stopping writing it for a long time ;_;

Thursday

11:57 PM

4.454 inches

If anything wrong happened to him...

Ethan couldn't stop sweating as the man next to him forced himself to breath, his suit now drenched in blood while his trembling hands tried to stop it from flowing with no sucess. His body was suffering from constant shivers and his troath was already dry. He could see almost nothing as he opened his eyes so he kept them closed, much to Ethan's despair.

"Norman, p-please, you cannot faint right n-now...!" The man begged him, barely able to concentrate on the other cars as he drove through them as fast as he managed to. Jayden did not answer, interrupted by a harsh cough, and put one of his hands over his chest, wishing his heart would stop beating so fast. He felt numb, the will to throw up driving him insane and he realized that his organism was complaining about its state. He should not be feeling like this, not by only being stabbed – At least, that is what he thought even though Ethan thought differently – but his body, weakened by his addiction, was collapsing, although he was trying to fight back. For a second, he knew he wasn't able to breath any longer as he tried to inhale but felt no oxygen in his lungs. A gasping sound came out of his mouth and Ethan, scared, sighed.

"P-please, don't do this to me, man, p-please...!"

The profiler held his cellphone, knowing that only Ethan would not be enough to help him. As he gathered some air and managed to slightly open his eyes he called the one he knew would be ready to answer his call. Swallowing hard, he tried to keep his voice steady and as he heard the soft voice on the other side, he couldn't help but feel calmer.

"Normmy, hi!" Rachel answered, now in her room at the apartment she worked in. But as soon as she heard his struggle to breathe, her happiness vanished in a second "Norman, what's wrong?"

"R-R-Rachel, p-please, listen to m-me...!" He told her and Ethan bit his lips as he heard the broken tone of voice Jayden now had, a painful but controlled cry escaping his lips "I-I n-need you in front of the apartment...! I-I'm almost-" He choked, pressing his waist in a desperate atempt of easing the pain. Rachel gasped, almost in tears, and immediately ran to the entrance of the place, expecting him to come walking "T...Th-there!"

"Oh my God, J-Jayden, w-what happened...?" She asked, unable to contain herself. She knew it wasn't the right time to ask but it felt impossible not to worry and she held a scared sob.

"Sweetheart..." He sighed and turned the phone off as Ethan parked the car. Rachel fastly recognized him through the window and came running after him.

"My God, N-Norman!"

"We need to take him to his room, now!" Ethan told her, helping his friend to walk, Rachel leading the way.

"But he needs to go to a hospital!" She exclaimed, ignoring the fact that she was already heading towards his room.

"N-No h... H-hospital...!" The pale man coughed, holding himself into Ethan, glad that it was already late. Most people should be in places such as the Blue Lagoon and he hoped that, whoever saw him in such state, would not ask anything. They entered his room, stumbling on their feet, and instantly closed the door. Rachel ran to the bathroom to find anything that could help and Ethan helped to lay Jayden on his bed.

"I'm going to faint..." Jayden whispered, staring into emptiness and making Ethan worry even more. This father contained worried tears and sat next to him, holding himself.

"You better stand still, you idiot! We need you awake, got it?"

"I-I don't want to feel any more pain..." He whispered again, losing conciousness "Y-You'll make my wound even worse, if I know you well..."

"Well, at least I did not cut your finger off!" Ethan said and an innocent smile covered Jayden's features as he slowly drifted away. Mars freaked out as he realized it and immediately called Jayden back to reality, holding his face with both of his hands and softly slapping his cheeks.

"S-Stay with me, I told you! Be strong, goddamit!" The architect asked and let out a relieved sigh as Rachel approached them with some objects in her hands. She grabbed a cotton and, lifting the agent's once white shirt, touched his wound.

"AaArgh!" He screamed, returning to full conciousness due to the pain. "N-no... P-P-Please...!" He asked them, tears rolling down his cheeks, his voice hurt and distant.

"I-I need to clean it, p-please, be strong!" Rachel told him, cleaning the wound with the wet cotton until she could fully see through the dark red liquid over him. His fingers twiching over the bed, his hand was fully closed over his bed sheet, his suffering sobs breaking Ethan's heart. He helped to take Jayden's shirt off so they could clean his other wounds and, as soon as the blood had been cleaned, Rachel softly touched his cut skin, trying to see through it.

"He has lost too m-much blood but it is not deep, thanks God!" She told Ethan and they pressed his wounds with clean towels she found, causing Jayden to contort himself, a weird pressure falling upon him.

"Are you with me, Norm? Norm?" Ethan called, painful groans leaving the profiler's mouth.

"Y... Yes. A-are you d-done...?"

"Almost there" Rachel told him. They checked his temperature and brought him a blanket in order to keep his body warm - The last thing they needed was for one of his organs to stop working. After a few minutes, they washed the towels and brought them back to make sure the bleeding would stop and only then silence reigned over. Norman found it difficult to breathe but his wound felt a lot better and Rachel and Ethan finally rested for a while, never taking their eyes off him. "Don't you dare to sleep. Not yet!" Ethan told him and so he tried to stay awake.

"Will you tell me what happened?" Rachel asked after a long time "First, you" She said, looking at Ethan "and now you, Jayden? What is going on?"

Ethan lowered his head, unsure of what to say. However, Jayden managed to speak – He sounded groggy, but they could still understand what he was saying– and so he spoke.

"Promise me you won't tell anybody?" Ethan stared at him, not believing he was going to tell her, but Jayden stared back "She is the only one we can trust. She can help". Awkwardly, Ethan nodded, and let the Agent speak. He sounded terribly weak but he knew he should be the one to say it.

"Don't you recognize him?" He asked, tired "Of course, he is in a really bad shape since they showed his picture on TV, just like me, but this man... This man is Ethan Mars"

The woman quickly got up, unsure of what to say, unsure is she should be staying or leaving. "The Orig-"

"He is not the Origami Killer" Jayden interrupted her, leaving Ethan silent due to the conviction in his voice "I have enough proofs, trust me, Rachel... And I am willing to prove it!"

"So... Y-You're after the real killer? Is that what you're trying to say?" She asked, confused. She believed in Norman more than in anyone but after hearing about Mars the last days it felt impossible to ignore what the police said.

"We found him" Ethan said, trying to sound friendly so he wouldn't scare the girl "But it was impossible to see his face..."

"And I was amazingly hit by a katana sword" Jayden finished, smiling, not even believing in what had happened.

"He did this?" She asked, forgetting about Ethan. Obviously, if Ethan had hurt Jayden, he wouldn't be here to help to begin with. "That bastard! Have you found your son?"

"Not yet but we're almost there" Ethan said, sure of that. He saw how Jayden was determined now, just as much as he was, and so he was sure they were gonna make it. Right now, however, he just wanted the man to rest for a while.

"Oh, Normmy..." She whispered and sat next to him, looking into his tired green eyes "Promise me you will be careful?"

"I cannot promise that, honey" He said, his eyes almost closing by their own "But I will try. Now, go back to your room. It is late"

She turned her attention to Ethan "Then you; can you promise me you will take care of him?"

"I promise" He said, smiling, and she thanked him. Once again looking into shining green eyes, Rachel played with Jayden's hair and kissed his forehead, their eyes closing peacefully by the soft touch.

"I..." She started, hesitating. Sighing, she kissed his cheek and got up "I will come back to see you soon. And you better go to the hospital as early as possible, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you" He said but she merely nodded, blushing, and left the room, seeing the men needed some time alone.

"How do you feel?" Ethan asked, still worried. "Any better?"

"I guess so... Can I sleep now?" Norman asked, moaning in pain but still smiling.

"Not yet. I want you awake until I'm sure you're better"

"As you wish, 'dad'" Norman said, his eyes closed. That was when Ethan finally noticed something.

"Wait, is that girl called Rachel?"

"You only realized that, now?"

But Ethan remembered what was written on the wall... "Ohhh, the looove: Nahman and Rachel! Deal with it Nahmaaan!". And then he thought about the description Jayden made of the imaginary woman on the stair, at the Blue Lagoon...

"'Blonde hair'… 'Green eyes'… 'She's looking at me'... You were talking about her!"

"What?" Norman asked, trying to sound confused. But it was too obvious and he blushed, Ethan smiling.

"Rachel is your friend! She studied with you and she still lives in here! At the same apartment you're living in while you work here. She... You are in love with her!"

"Stop jumping to conclusions, Ethan, please" He asked but there was a shy smile sprouting from his lips.

"I am not! You are already telling me everything with that smile of yours!"

Norman smiled bigger, admiting it. Hell, he had never been good at hiding these kind of things.

"She... She was the only girl to walk around with us back in highschool. She helped me many times, you know... With advices and attention. When I was sent to work on this case, she was the one to indicate me this apartment. I thought I was going to take a long time to find the killer but it won't take that long, it seems"

"Don't change the subject" Ethan said and laughed "Did you tell her? Or... The contrary? She almost did it a few seconds ago"

"No, I didn't... I'm not good at that kind of stuff. As I told you, I have no time and we barely see each other"

"Don't lose your opportunity, bud. You may be young now but you'll get old one day"

"Indeed" He said and smiled, feeling a sudden pressure fall over him again. He was exhausted... "Listen, I have a lot to work with... The Blue Lagoon was very helpful, I guess. So, please... Can I sleep now?"

Ethan smiled once again, checking his friend's wound and, as he saw it had stopped bleeding, he thought it would be alright to let the man rest. "Fine. Get some rest. But if I notice something wrong, be prepared to wake again!"

"Thank you. And, Ethan... You were right about that bad feeling. If it wasn't for you there... I wouldn't even be alive, that is for sure. I owe you one"

"I will not forget that" Ethan say, laughing, and them let Norman sleep. He had gone through hell to save his son; he deserved it.

If only they knew the hell the last trial would represent...