After the two future detectives graduated with their degrees, they enjoyed the small break they had between college and the academy. Their partners were also on a short break before they entered their new classes. Navia was upping her class load to graduate around the same time as Neuvillette. They all wanted to begin their futures together.

Clorinde was out of the house for the day, spending the day with Chevreuse at the shooting range. The boys were in the living room, playing a video game together. They were in high spirits, laughing and enjoying themselves. Navia approached them quietly. She snuck up behind Wriothesley and grabbed his shoulders suddenly. The dark haired man screeched in surprise, his partner pausing the game.

"Geez Navia…" Wriothesley panted. "You scared a few years off my life!"

"Sorry!" She laughed. "I saw the opportunity to scare you and knew I had to take it!"

"What are you up to, Navia?" Neuvillette asked. "Any plans while Clorinde is gone for the day?"

"Actually I was wanting to ask you guys if you had any plans or if you'd be willing to go with me somewhere…" Navia said, wringing her hands awkwardly.

"What's on your mind? We dont have any plans today, just spending time at home." Wriothesley shrugged.

"Would you guys want to go with me to try on wedding dresses…?" She asked. "I can't take Rinde and I don't know what I want yet. I know the wedding is a long way out still but I'd rather start now in case the search takes a while."

"Of course we'll go with you." Neuvillette smiled.

"Wanna head out in like an hour?" Wriothesley asked. "Gives us time to finish our game and grab some food before we head out on an adventure."

"Sounds perfect! I will go get ready!" Navia clasped her hands together happily before heading upstairs.

An hour later, they were in the car driving to the local bridal shop. Navia explained to the boys she had no idea what to expect. She had no preferences on color or style yet so she wanted to start trying on a variety of dresses. The boys were her shadow in the store, working with the attendant to hold her selections and set them up for her to try on. Wriothesley couldn't believe the amount of dresses in one small store. There were 1000s!

Navia gathered around 20 dresses to try on. Wriothesley and Neuvillette took turns helping her get in and out of the dresses, the other helping sort and put away ones she didn't care for. She looked gorgeous in all of them… the boys had no idea how she would pick. She had gathered many white ones, a few pink ones, a black one and a dark blue one. She seemed to be leaning towards one of the white ball gown dresses.

Navia was talking to the store attendant about options and her approaching wedding day. Clorinde had already decided she was wearing some sort of feminine suit. She never really was a dress girl. Neuvillette and Wriothesley were shuffling through her selections, helping clean up the small fashion show.

Navia had decided to wait to purchase her dress until she knew what she wanted. There were simply too many choices she liked and didnt want to make the incorrect one. The trio headed home and started on dinner, discussing options until Clorinde joined them back home.

That evening, Neuvillette sat in bed in front of Wriothesley. He was reading a law text book for next semester while the other man brushed out his long hair and relaxed after their shower. Wriothesley hummed a small tune while he happily took care of his partner. He knew studying the law was a lot… a lot more than he had to do. He had a deep understanding of laws but Neuvillette needed to understand loopholes, procedures, penalties and more.

"Hey baby…" Wriothesley said gently, unable to withhold the conversation from his partner anymore.

"What's on your mind?" Neuvillette asked, closing his text book. He gently took his hair back and faced his partner.

"I know we had decided to wait until I had graduated from the police academy but… would you be against marrying me sooner?" Wriothesley asked. He scratched the back of his hand, anxious for the answer.

"I would never be opposed to that." Neuvillette took his chin gently in his hand, coaxing him to look at him. "What made you think about it?"

"Looking at dresses with Navia made me think about it. She's so excited and they're waiting on us. And if I'm honest, I'm ready to call you my husband rather than my fiance." Wriothesley explained.

"I think we should move it up then." Neuvillette smiled, kissing his partner softly. "When were you thinking?"

"Maybe next month before you return to school?" He suggested. "We don't need much… it's just us and the girls who are going to be there. We don't need to dress extravagantly or anything."

"I think that sounds perfect. We can apply for a license tomorrow morning online and go from there." Neuvillette chuckled softly. "Are you excited to be a married man?"

"More than excited since my partner is you." Wriothesley smirked. He leaned in, closing the distance for a passionate kiss. Neuvillette moaned softly before wrapping his arms around the other. They made out for a short time before returning to their previous activities, Neuvillette determined to finish the chapter he was reading.

Wriothesley knew when he fell asleep he was going to have bad dreams. It was a deep gut feeling of anxiety. He had done so good for so long, fighting his demons. But sometimes, they rammed their horns straight through him.

A terrible dream. One filled with memories. Him in jail, barely 15 years old. There was a huge riot that had broken out among the prisoners. The guards were trying to keep things under wraps but they were simply outnumbered. The prisoners slowly took control of each cell block. Wriothesley hid in his cell, unwilling to participate in the bloodshed and violence. There was no point to it, it would only extend his sentencing and he only had 2 years left before his first parole hearing.

He was dragged out of his cell by his legs. He was kicking and screaming, trying his best to fight off the men who found him. He was a bulky teen already but these were grown men, hardened over many years of prison time. They felt he was a coward and a traitor for not helping their cause. They slammed him into a wall, Wriothesley begging for his life. He was just a kid after all, a model prisoner as well. The group of men took turns beating him to a pulp, leaving the other gasping for air after every swing or kick. The cell block filled with the sounds of guards shortly after. They were taking control back of the cell blocks.

Knowing their time was up, the group gathered their shivs to give to their head honcho. He put each blade between his knuckles, becoming a cheap version of Wolverine. The man grinned as he swung at Wriothesley, the kid cowering and dodging the attack by default. This only angered the man who told his goons to pin down the poor lad.

Iron. That's all Wriothesley could smell. It filled the room as he was slashed across his chest. Warm liquid cascaded down the front of his uniform as he put the puzzle pieces together. They landed a hit, 3 claw marks down Wriothesley's torso from shoulder to ribs across his chest. They were deep. Hot bile rose in his throat. Pain throbbed in ways he had only felt a few times prior in his life.

He heard gunshots. He felt himself drop to the ground. He coughed up blood on someone who touched him after. He cowered away from the guard trying to help him.

"Wriothesley." The guard said to him. No that wasn't a guard that voice was way too familiar.

"Wrio please." Another guard hauled him up to his feet and looked him in the eyes. The face was so familiar but he couldn't place it. He felt pressure on his shoulders then an invisible force turning his head. His face felt wet from tears.

The world turned black as he heard the words 'it's a dream sweetheart' but it wasn't a dream to him. Those were memories from his past. That was trauma he had to live with forever. The scars that mangled his body were constant reminders of his survival. That's what he had done most of his life after all… survive, not live.

Wriothesley woke up with a jolt, panic filling his entire body. He looked around, panicking at where he was. He settled a bit as he saw his fiance beside him, rubbing his back and shoulders. Neuvillette wrapped his arms around the frightened man as he soothed him. Wriothesley was shaking from the nightmare. He wasn't sure what was a dream and what was reality at that moment.

Wriothesley flinched and tried to hide when he heard the door open to their bedroom. Neuvillette hushed him and pulled him close, trying to explain to his partner it was safe. He felt additional hands wrap around him and he whimpered in fear. At this moment, in his mind, he wasn't a 20 year old man… he was 15 and in survival mode.

"Wrio…" Clorinde murmured, shifting herself in front of Wriothesley. She gently cupped his face and coerced him to look at her. She dried his tears gently with her night gown. "What was it?"

"R-ri…riot…" He barely whispered. He flinched almost as soon as he did.

"Hey it's alright!" Clorinde gently shushed, pulling Wriothesley's head back up to face her. "You're safe… that was years ago. You're home right now with us… Navia, Neuvillette and I. You don't need to be afraid."

"We are here sweetheart… don't think about the past, think about the future." Neuvillette said, pressing a kiss to his partner's temple. "Think about what you want to do for our wedding or what you have to say at the girls' wedding. The past can be forgotten for now."

"Or what we are gonna do tomorrow!" Navia added. She shifted herself to fit behind Wriothesley, hugging him gently from behind. This allowed her weight to be more like a weighted blanket, providing a net of safety for the shaking man.

The shaking man nodded, taking deep breaths to try and calm down. His partners doted on him for the next hour. Wriothesley's anxiety finally subsided a bit around 5am. Coming back to reality was always the hardest. His mind struggled to sort through the painful memories. Maybe it was time he started anxiety meds so he didn't keep his partners awake at night.

Wriothesley stood up once he calmed down. He was no longer shaking but still had that thousand yard stare. He pulled on a hoodie and tucked his phone and wallet into his pockets.

"Where are you going?" Clorinde asked softly.

"I need to go for a run… I'm sorry guys… I just…" He took a deep breath. "The walls feel too tight right now…"

"Be safe sweetheart." Neuvillette smiled. He kissed his partner's hand softly. "Call me if you need me. I will be there in moments. I love you."

"I love you. I love you guys too Clorinde and Navia. Go back to bed, I'll be home soon I promise." Wriothesley gave a small smile before heading out of the room. They heard the front door open and close, signaling the dark haired man's departure.

"What happened?" Navia asked softly.

"I'm not sure…" Neuvillette sighed. "We had a good night… he asked to move up our wedding and we relaxed and went to bed. He gave no sign of being anxious. He showed no signs of ptsd."

"I think his mind betrayed him. That was the first time he's had a flashback nightmare in over a year." Clorinde looked down. "And unfortunately, out of all the memories, that's one of the worst."

"He said it was a riot?" Navia asked.

Clorinde sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "A prison riot yes… have you two ever noticed the three slash marks down his chest?"

"Yes they're quite large." Neuvillette nodded.

"Those scars are from the riot. I don't know all the details. He has never opened up to me about it. All I know is there was a large scale riot he refused to participate in and he got assaulted. He was moved out of prison to a hospital for surgery and I wasn't able to visit him for a week when that happened. He almost lost his life." Clorinde said. She looked at the bed, pushing back tears. "It was so traumatic that he hasn't spoken about it since. I never pried… I should have… but when I saw him that first time afterward and just saw the defeat in his eyes I didnt. I focused my energy on keeping his spirits up until he got released."

"You did the right thing, Clorinde." Neuvillette took her hand and squeezed it. "He'll talk about it if and when he's ever ready to. It doesn't matter for now. I just hope he's alright out there."

"He's just on a run. You know how he gets anxious inside." Navia reassured.

The girls decided to curl up in bed with Neuvillette. The group felt better together rather than making Neuvillette sleep alone without Wriothesley.

Neuvillette didn't get much sleep after, worried about his partner. It has been so long since he had a melt down like that. He wasn't sure what it meant or what he could do to help. There was no trigger… there were no signs. He wished he could take his partner's pain away.

The sun began to rise when Neuvillette's phone buzzed. He reached for it, doing his best not to wake Navia who was basically asleep on his chest. He answered the phone quietly, trying to be considerate of his sleeping friends.

"Good morning sir, is this Neuvillette? You are listed as a mr. Wriothesley's primary emergency contact." A woman spoke on the other line of the phone.

"Um yes ma'am. This is Neuvillette. Emergency contact? What's going on?" He asked.

"I'm calling from the general hospital's emergency department. We had mr. Wriothesley arrived by ambulance about 30 minutes ago. We have you and a ms. Clorinde as the emergency contacts." The woman explained.

"Emergency room? What happened?!" Neuvillette shot up in bed, accidently waking both of the girls. "A moment please, Clorinde is actually here with me. I will put it on speaker."

"Mr. Wriothesley arrived in the emergency room at approximately 0600 hours after being struck by a vehicle. His injuries are being treated now. He asked me to call and see if you were willing to come up and be by his side while he receives treatment." The nurse explained.

"We'll be there shortly!" Neuvillette said. His chest was tight. His partner was hit by a car this morning! The nurse gave instructions for when they arrived and the phone call ended. The girls got out of bed and ran to their room to get ready. Neuvillette threw on clothes as quickly as possible and threw his hair into a bun.

Clorinde drove the three to the general hospital as fast as she legally could. Neuvillette was crying softly in the front seat with Navia holding his hand from the back seat. She parked in the first spot she found and the group ran inside the emergency department.

Clorinde, being the calmest among the group, spoke to the nurse and got the needed information from her. They found out he was already out of the emergency room and in an admitted room. She wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign. They quickly worked through the labyrinth of a hospital and found his room. She knocked on the door softly before entering.

Wriothesley was lying in bed, awake but didn't look there. He was mostly covered by a blanket. His head was wrapped in a thin bandage. He had some stitches in his hand. Overall he looked better than they expected but didn't know the damage.

"My love!" Neuvillette sighed lovingly as he saw his partner. He wanted to take his hand but hesitated from the stitches. "What happened!?"

"I'm going to go find a doctor." Navia said, Clorinde following behind her.

"Neuvi." Wriothesley smiled weakly. "Im… not entirely sure…"

"How are you feeling? What do you remember?" The light haired man panicked.

"I'm sore… I remember running… cold… horn… the really cold ground…" Wriothesley's speech was very broken.

"I'm so happy to see you… I was so scared when I got that call." Neuvillette smiled softly, tears trailing down his cheek lightly.

Wriothesley reached up shakily, wiping the tears from his partner's face. He gave a weak smile, trying his best to reassure his partner. But he was in pain… so much pain. He didn't really remember what happened. Everything was blurry. One moment he was running, then he heard a horn, then he felt so much pain and coldness.

Clorinde and Navia returned with the doctor in charge of Wriothesley's care. He explained that he had a concussion, two broken ribs and some road rash on his legs and sides from where he landed on the sidewalk. The stitches in his hand were from broken glass he landed on. They learned the driver drove off, probably out of fear. There was a camera nearby so the police were trying to hunt down whoever hit him. A nurse driving to work that morning happened to see the accident and called for help. Overall, Wriothesley was going to be okay with some love and care.

The doctor explained he was going to stay overnight to monitor his concussion and vitals, hence why he was already in an admitted room. The girls decided to run home to get some necessities for Wriothesley and potentially Neuvillette. The light haired man was tempted to stay overnight with his partner.

Neuvillette was sitting beside Wriothesley, stroking his hand lovingly. He seemed lost in thought, thinking of the events of the morning. Wriothesley could tell he wanted to know… but he also knew his partner didn't want to pry. Wriothesley didn't want to keep his past from his partner but it was a lot. He knew it was a lot… his past wasn't filled with happy memories. It was filled with pain, tears and agony.

"You want to know what the riot was don't you?" Wriothesley asked softly. His voice came back from this morning, his mind just starting to function better than when he hit the pavement.

"I have to admit I am curious…" Neuvillette sighed. "However, I don't want to bring up the bad memories in the past. I want you to get better."

"When I was 15, a huge riot broke out in the prison." Wriothesley started. He closed his eyes, holding tight onto his partner to ground him. "I didn't want to be involved. It would only extend my time and I was so close to my first parole hearing. I was a coward to some… I just hid in my cell. Guards lost control fast. I was found… by Lucas and his groupies." He took a shaky breath. "They beat the living shit out of me. Called me all sorts of terrible things for not participating. The guards started to take control back and he knew he was out of time. They had knives and he put them all in his hand like claws and…" He imitated the motion of the makeshift claws going across his chest.

"Darling…" Neuvillette squeezed his hand softly, trying to provide some comfort.

"The guards got them. I went into shock quickly. I… almost bled out." Wriothesley admitted. "I didn't even go to the medical ward… I went to an emergency room and had to have surgery and a blood transfusion. I was there for almost a week. Thankfully I was a model prisoner and they truly knew I wasn't a flight risk. When I returned, I was in a whole new cell block of non-violent offenders. Which was ironic given I was there on two murder charges. I hardly spoke the rest of my sentence about it…"

"Is there permanent damage?" Neuvillette asked.

"No… just the scars and the memories." Wriothesley smiled weakly at his partner.

"I wish I could take your pain away." Neuvillette admitted. "I wish you didn't have to shoulder these memories on your own. Just know I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." He kissed his partner's hand softly.

"I know… I'm strong." Wriothesley laughed softly. "I have no idea what triggered… that memory. I was doing so good. Maybe I will discuss with my therapist if I should go on some anxiety meds or sleeping meds so you dont wake up to me like that again."

"Only go on medication if that's what you truly want. Not for me to sleep more. I will always be there to sooth you through your episodes. I will always be here to reassure you through everything and anything that is thrown our way." Neuvillette brushed back Wriothesley's messy hair behind his ear.

"I truly don't deserve you." Wriothesley smiled. "You're too good to me."

"No this is what you deserve. The world… I'm just so lucky to be the one to give it to you." Neuvillette kissed his partner softly. "Let's get married next month… I can fill out the license tomorrow while you lay in bed recovering beside me."

Wriothesley agreed, giving his partner a loving grin. The girls returned shortly after with essentials for the two men overnight. They also brought some card games to play while Wriothesley recovered. It brought normalcy to the whole group and comfort.

Neuvillette stayed the night at the hospital, resting on and off in his partner's room and making sure he was well taken care of. When morning came, the girls picked them up. Wriothesley was still in quite a bit of pain from the broken ribs but refused narcotic medication. He was ready to recover before he went into the academy.

Wriothesley laid in bed beside his partner who filled out their marriage license. He smiled as he watched the handsome light haired man focus on the work on his laptop. He was really going to marry this man soon. He was truly the luckiest man alive.

Soon the license was submitted. In three days, they would be able to obtain their license and then they could get married any day they wanted within thirty days. They would discuss it with the girls when they thought it was best.

Wriothesley was sitting up in bed, looking out the window dreamily. Once he was healed, it was time for the police academy. He was going to come out on top, he was going to give it everything he had. He was determined to change the world… change lives… and most importantly, save his sister and any victim of the Doctor. He looked at his hands. They would be the tools he would use to carve the path of freedom and justice. And soon, he hoped and prayed, they would hold his sister once again.