A/N: I swear it's like this story's apologizing for its two year hibernation or something. They're definitely a lot shorter but they're coming out much faster than I thought I'd ever be writing them. But anywho, there you go!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own anything.

If it weren't for the gruff hold the security guard had around her wrists, Meredith's tired body would send her face first into the solid floors beneath her feet. She's not even sure how much time has passed, but she's exhausted, her little adventure having drained her completely. With no windows to see out of, it could very well have leaked into the next day by now. If not, well that's certainly how it felt. With nothing to keep herself entertained the hours passed at a snail's pace. Meredith wondered how long it would be before a fitful sleep took over. Her small frame pressed firmly against the cement block they called a bed. With only an orange suit for dressing the cold sank clear through her bones.

If she could just go back and rewind. If only she wasn't desperate enough for that which was no longer hers. If she was thinking rather than allowing herself to be thought for, she would probably be enjoying a nice tall mug of hot cocoa watching flames dance quietly as she curled up in her favorite blanket. Maybe they'd all find a movie to watch until they were too tired to keep their eyes open. Here, what drained her would be her own thoughts and all the things she could have avoided, finding a way to survive as they kept her like a caged animal.

A flicker of hope flared through her when she remembered that there was a good chance she wouldn't be. Most people who did this kind of thing posted bail, right? If her parents went that route (Okay so the Smiths weren't legally her parents exactly but they were the closest thing she had) she could go home. She could fall asleep in the warmth of her bed, be fed a warm meal and just for a minute, go back to something relatively normal. She wasn't stupid. Meredith knew that what she and T-Bone had done was far from over, forever tainting her perfectly planned future but at least for now, she wouldn't have to feel like a criminal. But the Smiths were upstanding people. What would they think when they found out that she had landed herself on the other side of the law? What would they think of her when she was finally permitted to explain her reasons? They were weak and petty at best. For those very reasons a part of her hoped they would never hear the message she left, that the station wouldn't bother them about what she'd done. It wouldn't matter to them that it was all T-Bone's doing. Her hands were just as dirty.

T-Bone. Just thinking his name made her stomach roll. She prayed that for the Camden's sake he would be caught more than soon. She hadn't known him long but in their partnership she quickly knew him to be a runner. How far would he have to go before he too was properly caged? As big a part she played in this she knew he was more the animal than she was. He was vicious and determined to get exactly what he wanted. When he didn't? Well, when he didn't, he would go to any extreme to make sure he could be heard. If there was anything good that came of being here it was that she no longer had to listen to his poorly executed plan.

"Lord, I understand my faults, that I've done wrong but please…For the sake of such a loving family…let justice be done." It was after that silent plea that she allowed her eyes to close. She knew just after a few minutes of setting foot in this place that they weren't going to stay that way for very long. The little sleep she managed would probably only leave her more on edge than she already was. Not that it mattered how she felt about anything. It was she who was brushed by devilish thoughts. It was she alone who had to pay for her actions. Meredith Davis was no angel but as much wrong as she'd done, she never saw herself to stoop this low. What would become of her now? A knot formed in her throat when she realized this very well could send her right back from where she came. Martin didn't want her, she knew that already. But after this? After this she was almost sure that no one would want a single thing to do with her. No parent wanted a tainted child. "I'm sorry…" she choked speaking to no one in particular. It was offered as more of a general apology, one that it was unlikely anyone wanted to hear, let alone believed.

The sharp ringing of Kevin's cell phone startled him to an upright position. A blaring alarm clock that read 1am stared him dead on as he rubbed his tired eyes. A subtle growl trailed through as he hurried to answer before anyone else was woken. The light that flashed left him temporarily blinded as he answered.

"'Ello," he grumbled.

"Kevin, so glad I caught you," he said quickly foregoing proper greeting. Raising his brow, the tired blond bit back logic as his boss's voice rang through the phone. The only reason he would be calling at this hour would be…"

"They catch him?" he asked hurriedly.

"Not quite. We know where we can find him but we haven't…"

"Why the hell not?" he snapped. "Boss this is…"

"We're holding off because I owe you an arrest, Kinkirk. Put some pants on and get your ass down here fast, before we lose him again."

"Yes sir," he said scrambling quickly out of bed throwing on the first pair of pants he could find as he reached for his gun belt.

"Kevin!" Lucy hissed. Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Party time!" he grinned throwing on his coat.

"What?" she mumbled screwing up her face as she looked up at him.

"We got him, Luce. That was Michaels. I get to throw his sorry ass in the slammer."

"Oh thank Jesus," she whispered letting quiet tears course down her cheeks.

"I'm gonna go tell them real quick before I go," he smiled kissing his wife quickly.

"Kevin!"

"What?"

"You're stalling. They're asleep. Just tell them, tell everyone, scream it."

"Okay!" he whispered skipping over to the lights.

"Not now! After you arrest him."

"Oh…Right. Okay. I'm leaving now."

"Make him pay," she said softly.

"That's the plan, baby."

The chill of the night air stung his already reddened cheeks. He wasn't even sure how far he'd run but he knew he had to keep going. If he stopped now, he'd be caught, thrown in with a mess of real criminals. He would become one of those guys that actually did spill the blood of their kept. No one would believe that Ruthie was the only one who ever heard him, ever really wanted him. No one would understand that the only way he would ever be heard is if he was smart enough to take her back. He'd told her multiple times that she was the only reason he ever really cared about anything, the only one who ever really loved him. And then she suddenly stopped, leaving him to wonder if she too was just as bold a liar as the rest of them. He needed answers. Answers to crucial questions still left open. If he was going to get them, he had to keep going. He had to run hard or else they'd just throw him in the slammer like a hardcore criminal.

What he'd done wasn't that bad. It's not like he planned to actually kill her. He and Ruthie loved each other. He knew enough that one wouldn't end the life of the one they care so much about. Taking her somewhere more private, more secluded was the only way she'd ever listen to him again. She wouldn't have been manipulated by other people telling her what to say and do. If it was just them, she could be her own person. She would be the Ruthie he loved. The Ruthie he loved wasn't some premature mother to a guy who left her hanging. Unlike Martin, he actually gave a damn about his women. He knew commitment.

A flurry of rainbow lights froze him momentarily. Here we go he thought, already picking up his step. Taking extra but hurried caution he sped himself up, careful to keep from tripping himself. Any small window of weakness would take him down in seconds, uniforms reading him rights he'd heard for at least half of his short life. Considering what they were after him for this time, the likelihood childhood innocence would save him was nonexistent. In his hurried step, a lamppost met his face head-on bending him over in scalding pain. "Fuck!" he growled. Quick holds took him roughly from behind, cool metal meeting his skin.

"Theodore Stevens, you're under arrest, you have the right to—" He smiled for a second, hearing an all too familiar voice.

"…remain silent. Anything I say can and will be used against me in a court of law," he droned, rolling his eyes as he'd lost count of just how many times he'd heard this exact same speech. "I can't afford a lawyer so y'all are gonna have to get me one. I've heard all this shit before. Save your breath," he muttered lazily allowing himself to be dragged to the back of the squad car. "You better have some decent food in that shithole. I haven't eaten since like ten this morning."

"If it were up to me, you'd starve to death," Kevin shot behind him. "But I'm a man of the law, a retired cop with a good place at the station. I'd like to keep what's left of my job and reputation. "I've got other ways of achieving something just as painful while watching you rot away. I'll gladly let the law kill you for me, for all of us."

"See that's the problem with all you Camdens," he laughed. "So pure and righteous that you just end up doing everything for her. She wanted to be there, even flirted with me a bit. It was all in the eyes." Kevin blanched, stiff as a board as he forced himself to face the road ahead. As much as he knew Ruthie to have done it to save herself to stay alive, the thought itself was sickening to hear and imagine.

"She wanted to stay alive while you held a damn gun to her head," Kevin shot back.

"No wonder she had us get the tattoos. You fucking shelter her. All of you. Can't even be her own person." The blonde's eyes widened as he bit down hard on his tongue. For such a tough guy, he couldn't even handle going through with the inking in the first place. As much as he wanted to laugh, he kept his professional front.

"Wonder what she sees in you," Kevin mused. He knew the truth. They all knew the truth. Stuck in this long drained fantasy, the boy still believed she belonged to him, the thought alone making the grown man sick to his stomach. The best they could offer him was agreement or it would just end in a long-winded argument that went nowhere. It was no surprise T-Bone needed help. But like any head case he would be the last to admit it.

"Fucking loves me," he mused. "You're all so damn worried about keeping a good image that you can't even see it. "You'd much rather see her with a liar and a cheat than a kid with deadbeat parents."

"We just want her to be happy," Kevin corrected.

"She is happy!"

"Look kid, Ruthie's tied to a bed tonight, two broken legs and cuts and bruises on every available space on her body. Not sure about you but I wouldn't be happy about that. I'd be fucking crying." T-Bone laughed. Ruthie Camden never cried. She toughed it out. One of the many reasons he loved her. Kevin was just painting the image to crack him.

"Doubt it," he said breezily. "Ruthie doesn't cry."

"Really, you want me to send you a video you can watch every day, your sorry ass glued to a bench in the slammer as proof? You wanna see for yourself what you did to her, to her family? Aaron hasn't slept in days because of the shit you've pulled." T-Bone felt a growl rip through his throat at the name.

"Oh, you mean the baby she passes off as her own because she's a cheating whore who can't spread her legs for a man she loves?"

"Say another word about Ruthie and I knock your teeth down your throat!" he said trying to keep his voice as even as possible. His partner still hasn't said a word, the most subtle of smiles across his face as he hears the exchange between them. He kept to himself the fact that she had finally offered herself up. Sparing who was probably best for all involved.

"You and I both know it's true," he laughed. "Can't believe I ever tried that cult at all. All you do is brainwash people. Good people. People who don't have to fight a day in their lives to stay alive."

"Church is a good thing, kid. Might teach you a thing or two about surviving the burning pits of hell you're headed for."

"Yeah well, if hell means steering clear of the God squad I'll have myself a damn good time when I get there."

"Well, that's good that you've accepted your fate. Good news is, you don't have to ask where you're going. There's already a reservation with your name on it."

"Better for me. Unlike all you churchy folk, I worked my ass off in this life. What about you? What have you done? Let God make every single decision for you? You know what's really depressing? The fact that you can't even cross the street without asking for something. You all just…hand yourselves over to something that isn't even there. Give Him complete control like He holds all the answers." As much as T-Bone blew at him, Kevin stayed quiet silently hoping that he'd just talk himself silly until they got back to the station. Another five minutes passed before they pulled up to the station.

"Alright kid, take in what you can of the fresh air. You won't be seeing anything outside these walls for a long time," he said, being none too gentle above the way he led him inside. The sharp fluorescent that met his eyes made T-Bone squint as he shuffled inside. As they stripped and suited him, he only tapped his foot, growing impatient as sharp pains of hunger screwed through his insides.

"Got any food in this place," he asked flatly. Kevin all but threw a wrapped sandwich in front of him, eagerly taking the seat across from him in questioning. The boy only stared at it. "That's it?" he laughed raising his brow.

"This isn't Chuck E. Cheese. You get what you get," he said. T-Bone taking a healthy bite of it. "Now, Mr. Stevens, you understand why you're here?"

"Yes. I'm here because apparently, it's against some kind of law to have a private conversation with my girlfriend."

"I'll do the talking here. Just answer as thoroughly as you can and we'll call it a night."

"I'm here, aren't I?" he muttered. Kevin only ignored him, quickly plowing on. The sooner they were done here, the sooner he could go home and sleep, resting much easier knowing this kid was safely locked up.

"I also understand that you were seen holding the woman in question against her will in a secluded area."

"You sound like a lawyer," he laughed. "Thought you were a cop." Ignoring him, Kevin continued. "But yeah, I only took her as far as I did because unlike some people, I like having serious conversations in private."

"And Ms. Camden allowed you to take her to this place?" T-Bone shrugged. She hadn't said it in so many words but he knew she wouldn't say no to him.

"Not in so many words," he said slowly. Kevin could see in his eyes that it was a boldfaced lie but proceeded. "We always hung out together. And then suddenly out of the blue, it stopped. I just wanted to know why."

"Do your Q&As also require the use of force, Mr. Stevens? We found prints at the site that match yours."

"You make it sound like I killed her," he said. "I didn't kill her. I just wanted to talk!"

"And talking in your book means something slightly different I see," Kevin said placing a used gun in front of him. "Same prints." As much as both knew there was no question on who had committed the crime, procedure was necessary, as much as the holdup drove Kevin up the wall.

"So what?" he shrugged. "I didn't actually shoot it. She's fine," he muttered.

"I regret to inform you, sir that Ms. Camden is far from 'fine'. She's sustained multiple lacerations that were not there the night she left for the Dairy Shack. That's where you planned to have your conversation?"

"Yeah."

"And what was Meredith Davis doing there with the two of you? I understood you as being a man of privacy."

"I am."

"And yet she reports that you forced her into the back of a vehicle."

"I didn't force her anywhere!"

"So you're saying this was Davis' idea?"

"That's because it was. She was the one who met her. She wanted help with homework or something."

"And when she went to the bathroom, you used it as your window of opportunity to take Ms. Camden back to your car, thus making your escape."

"Look, she's my girlfriend, I'm her boyfriend. I didn't know it was illegal to get some privacy. What we do should be none of y'all's business."

"Things like this become our business Mr. Stevens when the victim is being treated in the harsh ways that you continue to describe." For a master with the law, Kevin was surprised to see just how clueless the boy really was. He wondered if this had anything to do with what he saw in his own fantasy world, thought up in desperation.

"I wasn't harsh! I love her. I just needed to get her away from people who are constantly telling her the wrong things. I needed to remind her that I wasn't gonna…"

"Hurt her?" Kevin offered. "You threw the woman to ground."

"How else was gonna get her to shut up and listen?"

"You use your words. Those usually work really nicely. You get people to stay on your side much easier that way."

"I don't do words. I'd prefer to show people what I mean."

"As we've seen," Kevin mused. "Look, I'm going to spare you a list of pointless questions. We both know where you were the night of her disappearance. We both know that any injuries she sustained before hand—the slicing of her calf and the forceful rings left on her wrists—"

"She just kept walking! I was in a damn wheelchair. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Civility goes a long way in this world."

"Whatever."

"Mr. Stevens, you're the only evidence we have here. You're the only one ever being seen with Ruthie when she's not with her family. She's called into the station multiple times using your name."

"What of it?"

"Until we stack more evidence for or against you, we're going to have to keep you here a while." T-Bone only shrugged. At least in here it's kind of warm he thought. He'd have plenty of time to come up with a more fool proof plan on a full stomach and a full night's sleep. Pulling a heavy sigh, he simply extended his wrists. "Mr. Stevens you have the—"

"Just save it," he muttered. "I get the shpeal." With a subtle nod, Kevin led him back to his cell quickly locking up.

"Understand sir that given the severity of your accusations you will be held without bail."

"Got it," he said dryly. As he pulled away, Kevin had to resist the urge to pump his fist, forcing himself to remain professional. They would all rest much easier now.

"Kinkirk!" Michaels called as he approached the front desk.

"Sir?"

"You forget how to give an interrogation?" he asked.

"No sir."

"You just gave the boy a cliff note version of the law."

"Look Sarg, we all know he did it. He's not even trying to hide it. Seeing how late it is, I spared us all a few minutes of precious sleep." Sgt. Michaels didn't look pleased but nodded, tired himself.

"I wasn't even technically allowed to let you anywhere near this," he muttered.

"I know," Kevin nodded.

"Now that you've had the satisfaction of putting him away, I'm going to have to pull you from the case. It's clear you won't be able to stay professional as this progresses.

"Understood sir. Thank you for letting me get him though."

"Figured I at least owed you that. We hold trial next week. Have to get a shrink in here first to see if he can stand trial. They've probably got a Bible full of excuses. Means it's only gonna go longer but he's not walking the streets anymore. Rest easy for a bit."

"Thank you sir."

"Good, now go. Be with your wife. Tell the family. And please, try and get some sleep. You look like a damn zombie from where I'm standing."

"Will do."

"Kinkirk?" Kevin turned to face him.

"Nice work," he nodded. Under his professionalism, Kevin could see a shared sigh of relief. It was then he knew he wasn't going to be burned for going against the technicalities. He'd willingly step aside for the rest of this thing if it meant him and his family could find some peace in this mess.

"Thank you sir."

"Shame you don't work here anymore. Could really use your skill."

"I…I would Sarg but I..Savannah. And with Lucy having two more it's…"

"Understood. Just remember that, whenever you chose to suit up, there's a spot for you.

"I appreciate it."

"Goodnight Kevin."

"Night." And with that, Kevin couldn't help but skip over to his car, a thousand pound weight finally lifted off his shoulders. He knew that this was far from over but to have the peace of mind to know that T-Bone was no longer walking the streets was enough for the moment.

A/N: Questions? Comments? Let me know!