FIC: WHEN OUR FRAMES COLLIDE 12b/16
Title: When Our Frames Collide
Chapter: 12a/16 - Pretty Strangers And The Promises They Hold
Author: carolinablu85. or you can call me Ella! (or you can call me Al, if you like the song...)
Characters: Luke/Noah, Casey, Hunter, the Millers (OC), Bob, Lily, Jade, Marcus (OC), Lucy
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: sequel to my fic "Sins of the Father," refers to lots of things that happened in that story, takes place a few months later!
Summary: Luke tries to get news about Noah, Casey and Jade attempt a first date, Krista worries about Noah's progress, a super-secret rescue plan is made.
Disclaimer: I disclaim. I own a pair of sneakers, a cellphone, and some other stuff. The show? Nope, not that.
Author's Note: This chapter's title is brought to you by the song "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits, though there are some great cover versions by Matt Nathanson, Indigo Girls, and the Killers.
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10a / Chapter 10b / Chapter 11a / Chapter 11b / Chapter 12a /
The knock on his door startled Marcus out of his thoughts, to the point of almost causing him to knock over his mug of now cold coffee. “Come in?” He had no idea who it could be. Noah was his only patient, and Noah was…
The door opened slowly, and Marcus fought against reacting with surprise. Luke stood there, wary and nervous. “Hey doc,” he gave a little wave.
“Luke, hello,” he stood from behind his desk, beckoning. “Come on in, son.”
Luke offered a smile and made his way to the couch, settling himself down gently. “I’m not, um, bothering you or interrupting, am I?”
He smiled in return. “Of course not. I need the distraction, truthfully.”
“Yeah, me too,” Luke replied quietly. He brushed a nonexistent piece of dirt off his shirt.
“How are you feeling? Your grandmother said you’re staying at the house?” Marcus asked.
Luke nodded, glancing around at the office, the photos and decorations scattered throughout. Marcus let him, watched him, unconsciously doing the same thing he did when Noah was in the room. Letting him get his bearings, get comfortable in the environment so he could talk.
Finally, Luke turned to him. “I still get tired pretty easily, and a little dizzy. But I can walk around Old Town and the farm and the house without falling over, and Mom seems to think my eating habits are back to normal, so…” he shrugged.
Marcus laughed softly at the joke, because he knew Luke wanted him to. “That’s good to hear.” He paused for a moment before continuing on. “Has there been any news on the hit-and-run?”
Luke grimaced. “Not yet. Jack’s been working, like, overtime trying to find the car that hit us. Considering everything that’s happened because of it, I don’t blame the person for running. People are seriously wanting to blame this guy for everything.”
“What about you?” Marcus asked. “Do you want the person punished?”
“Of course I do,” Luke looked confused. “That person almost killed us, and didn’t even stop to see if we were okay, I mean-”
“But is this the person you’re angry at?” Marcus cut in quietly. This was why Luke was here to visit him, Marcus knew it. He needed to talk all of this out.
“No,” Luke admitted. “I’m angry at a lot of people though.” He tapped his fingers anxiously against his leg. “I mean, the Millers, of course. They’re hurting Noah, and they’re going to ruin any chance of having a good relationship with him because of this.”
“And they took him away from you,” Marcus pointed out.
“Away from all of us,” Luke responded, raising an eyebrow at Marcus knowingly.
Good God, he looked just like Lucinda when he did that. Marcus had to fight the urge to sigh and pour his own worries out. Now was not the time for that, his own insecurities. If he couldn’t help Noah right now, then the least he could do was help Luke. Noah would want that.
“They’re not the only people you’ve been angry with though, are they?” his expression back at Luke was just as knowing.
Luke sighed. “I screwed things up even more with my dad.” He shrugged. “I know I need to make things right with him, especially now, but I just… I just can’t. And after everything I said to him the day they took Noah away-”
“You know he doesn’t blame you for that, Luke,” Marcus was quick to point out.
“He should,” Luke responded immediately. “I lashed out at him because he was there, and because we were already fighting. It was the easiest. But I- I don’t know, at the time it seemed like he was taking everything in stride so easily. Like he was letting Noah go. I wanted him to fight. Like I wanted to fight. Like I couldn’t.”
“None of us could fight it,” Marcus knew they were getting to the heart of the matter now. “I was with Holden when they airlifted Noah away. He was… I imagine it’s what he would look like if you or your siblings were ever taken like that. He was losing one of his kids.”
Luke’s eyes were shut tight. “I know,” he mumbled. “I know. But I can’t. Every time we’re in the same room now I just feel angry and guilty and tense and it’s like he feels the same way. I can’t stop it.” His fingers were tapping anxiously again. “I can’t focus. I can’t center myself. I don’t know what to do.”
Marcus studied him quietly for a moment, wondering how honest he should be. With Noah, he knew he could be blunt, that Noah appreciated getting straight to a point and being forced to confront it. Luke probably needed a different tactic. “How do you usually center yourself?”
Luke bit his lip. “Noah. Either having him nearby or knowing he’d be nearby if I needed him.”
He nodded, expecting that answer. “And before you met Noah? What did you do then?”
Luke looked startled by the question. “Huh?”
Marcus smiled calmly. “You were alive for seventeen years before you met Noah. You’d been a teenager for four. How did you center yourself then?”
One side of Luke’s mouth quirked up in a reluctant smile. “Writing.”
“Well,” Marcus sat back, unconsciously mimicking the movement that he did whenever Noah had a breakthrough in a session. “There’s nothing stopping you from that now, is there? What was it about writing that got you focused?”
Luke cocked his head to one side, thinking. “It… it made me think about everything. What I saw, what I felt. When I had to transfer thoughts from my brain down onto paper, I’d have to understand what I was writing before I could write it.” A self-conscious shrug. “It made me think.”
“All that in past-tense,” he shook his head, smile turning sad. “Why can’t you do that now? At least until Noah gets back?”
Luke opened his mouth to answer, but couldn’t seem to find the words. Finally he shook his head. “I guess… I guess nothing’s stopping me?”
Marcus nodded, encouraging. “I think it might help, Luke. Definitely can’t hurt. And if you can write down all your feelings about this fight with your father, maybe it’ll help you figure out what you should feel. What you should say to him.”
Luke seemed to be nodding without even realizing it. “Yeah, maybe. But-”
The ringing of his cell phone cut him off, and they both looked surprised for a second. Marcus wasn’t used to one going off during a session, but then he had to remind himself that this wasn’t actually a session to begin with. “Go ahead,” he waved an okay to Luke.
Luke pulled the phone out of his pocket sheepishly. “Sorry, it’s just…” he trailed off, frowning at the unknown number. “Hello?” he answered cautiously. Then his eyes widened and he sat straight up. “Yeah, this is Luke.” He pulled the phone away for just a second, staring at Marcus. “It’s Krista.”
************
Noah heard the door open, and he could tell by the slow speed of it that it wasn’t a nurse. Besides, by his guess it was 4:30, and the next rotation wouldn’t be in until 5:05. They had their routines down to the minute here. Normally Noah wouldn’t mind the structure or precision of it, but stuck here? It just reminded him of the minutes and days and weeks (God, it had really been two weeks now) that he was away from Oakdale.
But no, this wasn’t a nurse. The soft, almost tentative steps coming towards him also meant it wasn’t Eric or Justin, not that Justin came into this room that often. Especially not alone. So it was either Autumn or Krista. Right now, Noah didn’t really care. It wasn’t who he wanted.
He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, hoping they’d think he was asleep and leave him alone. If he had to hear one more time how he was better off here without the Snyders, he might just scream. Go away go away go away…
“Noah?” It was Krista. Damn, he couldn’t really be mean to her. Out of everyone, she seemed the least comfortable with this whole deal. “Noah, can you wake up for me, please? I have… I have something for you.”
He sighed softly, fighting the urge to cough when it got stuck in his throat. Then slowly, he opened his eyes and turned over onto his back, facing her. She tried to smile at him, then held out her cell phone.
He frowned, confused and a little suspicious, but took it from her with one slightly shaky hand. Stupid coordination still wasn’t great. He held the phone up to his ear out of instinct, but still looked at Krista. “What-?”
The second he spoke, a soft sigh was heard on the other end of the line. “Hey, baby.”
He froze, more than a little convinced that this was a trick. “Luke?” his voice sounded rough, so he cleared his throat and tried again. “Luke? It’s really- are you there? Luke?”
“Hey. I’m here,” Noah could hear the tears in his voice even over the cell connection. He barely noticed Krista move back out of the room, standing guard right outside of his door. All of his focus was on the tiny little phone in his hands. His lifeline. “Are you okay, Noah? Are you feeling okay, are you-”
“Are you okay?” Noah burst out, gripping the phone tighter. “Luke, they haven’t told me anything. You were in the car with me. And Jade! Are you okay? Are you still in the hospital, what’s going on?”
“I’m fine, love, I swear,” Luke assured him. “Had a couple injuries, but I’ve been home resting for days now. I promise I’m okay. And Jade too, she has a broken wrist but she’s totally fine.” Noah sighed with relief, feeling at least that much weight lift off his shoulders. “What about you? And you damn well better tell me the truth, mister.”
God, he wanted to crawl through the phone line and be there with Luke, see that mock-stern look on his face. “I’m okay. My head still hurts sometimes, and I get really dizzy? But I’m okay. And my leg is fine, I can stand up and walk around my room and stuff.” He shook his head, done talking about the stupid accident. “I miss you. I miss you so much, baby, I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, hey, none of this is your fault, I promise,” Luke spoke determinedly. “Just concentrate on getting better, okay? Whatever the doctors say to do, you do it. Prove to them that you can take care of yourself so they let you out of this stupid proxy-thing. Then you can come home and never have to miss me again. Ever.”
“I don’t understand it, Luke,” he said quietly. “How this happened. I don’t want to be here.”
“I know, Noah. I don’t want it either,” Luke was quick to say. “We’ll get this all fixed. But for right now, you have to get better. Okay?”
“I love you,” he felt compelled to say.
He could picture Luke’s face from here. That soft, dare-he-think-angelic smile. Where his whole face lots all its edges and lines, and just seemed to glow from within. He’d give his right arm to see it now. Hell, he’d give both arms and a leg to see it now.
“I love you too,” came the immediate, unwavering response. Luke was quiet for a second before continuing. “Krista called me, she said you needed me. Now, I know that’s true on a normal basis, but did something happen to scare her?”
He nodded before remembering Luke couldn’t see him. “Panic attack,” he admitted softly.
“Nightmare?” Luke guessed. He didn’t wait for Noah to answer. “What about?”
Noah struggled with the best way to phrase this. “The hospital room. Being trapped. And…” he took a deep breath. “He was there.”
Luke didn’t need to ask who ‘he’ was. “How many of those dreams have you had?”
“A couple,” Noah couldn’t lie, not now. Not when this was his only communication with Luke. His free hand tightened into a fist, wishing it had a specific hand to hold.
“I’m so sorry, Noah. I wish I could be there. I wish you could be here. We,” Luke’s voice broke for a second, but then he continued. “We all miss you so much. All of us. The kids keep asking where you are, and Casey’s going crazy, and Grandma keeps baking things… we miss you.”
“I miss you too,” he whispered. “I’m gonna come home. As soon as I can. I promise, Luke. I promise.”
“I know,” Luke was swift in reassuring him. “Just hang on a little while longer, okay? Do what the doctors say and get better, and we’ll all be waiting for you here.”
“Yeah?” he hated that his voice cracked.
“Duh, moron,” Luke teased. “Maybe we’ll even have a party. I mean, I can’t promise it, depends on if anyone’s free…”
He laughed, realizing how long it had been since he’d done that. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to disrupt anything. I know how busy Natalie’s T-ball schedule is.”
There was another pause, a heavy one. “She’s been watching a lot of movies lately. Faith suggested it, something for them to do when they miss you.”
Noah banged his head back against the pillow. “Will you… will you tell them I miss them too? Everyone? Tell them I’m okay?”
“Of course I will.”
“They don’t want me to leave,” he confessed quietly, urgently, unsure if Krista could hear him or not. “They keep telling me I shouldn’t go back. I don’t understand what’s going on half the time, Luke, but I promise I’m not going to give in to them.”
“God, Noah…” Luke sounded so agonized in that moment, it caused an almost physical ache in his chest. “No matter what they say or do or whatever, you have to know I’m here waiting and I love you. Okay? Don’t forget that.”
Noah struggled to come up with the right words, the right way to say this. “Luke, before I met you, when it was just me and… before I met you? All I had were movies. And I had some, certain ones I would watch when I really needed to feel happy. They, I don’t know, gave me strength. Hope. That kind of stuff, whatever.” Quieter now, “I never knew something other than movies could make me feel that way. But you do. You always do.”
Another deep, choked breath sounded from the other end of the phone. “I love you so much,” Luke half-whispered.
Please don’t cry, Noah silently begged, not sure if he was talking to Luke or himself. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to hang up,” he tried to joke. Luke tried to laugh, which he appreciated.
“I don’t think I want to let you,” he answered painfully. “But you know I’m gonna be here, right? And hey, we’ve got Krista as our mole now, so we can talk any time. Any time you need me, you get her to call me.”
“Okay,” Noah hated how small he sounded, how helpless. “Luke, I-”
“Noah.” Krista stood in the doorway. “The doctor will be here any minute. And probably Mom and Dad too. You might need to hang up now.”
Noah shook his head stubbornly. “But-”
“It’s okay,” Luke must have heard her. “It’s okay. We can talk tomorrow, remember? Or later tonight maybe. We just have to be careful right now, baby. But hey, this is just temporary. We both know you’ll be home soon.”
“Yeah,” Noah exhaled. “But I can’t… I can’t hang up. I can’t hang up on you, Luke.”
Krista stepped forward, apologetic and frustrated. “Noah, give me the phone, hurry.”
Noah stared at her for a second, swallowing back his fear. He couldn’t panic now, he couldn’t. “Please…” he had no idea what he was asking for, who he was even asking. He just wanted things to be fixed.
Krista blinked hard, held her hand out. “Give me the phone,” she said gently.
He closed his eyes, whispered one more “I love you,” and placed the phone in Krista’s hand.
He was surprised when she spoke into it. “Luke, I swear. We’ll call you again as soon as we can, okay? …Yeah, yeah me too. Okay. Bye.” There was a click as she hung up the phone, then a moment of silence. “Noah?”
He didn’t open his eyes. “I don’t want to be here, Krista,” he murmured, curling onto his side away from her. “I’m sorry. I don’t.”
A hesitation, then a hand on his shoulder. “I know.” She probably would’ve said more, but the door opened yet again, this time briskly. Which meant a nurse. And more voices, sounding like Eric and Autumn. Krista squeezed his shoulder, then stepped away.
Noah let out a shaky breath, then another. A random movie quote ran through his head as he debated whether or not to be cordial today. Ever wish you could freeze frame a moment in your day, look at it and say, ‘This is not my life?’
For the first time since he woke up in Georgia and realized what was going on, Noah wanted to be drugged. He wanted to go to sleep and not wake up until all of this was over.
************
One Week Later...
It had been three weeks. Three weeks since he had left Oakdale (he’d gotten to talk to Luke four more times since that first call). Three weeks of being told nothing was his fault, that he deserved a better life than he’d had. Three weeks of hearing why he should never go near anyone with the last name Snyder ever again. Noah was ready to snap. It felt like he was being brainwashed by amateurs.
If he’d been physically and legally able to, he would have walked out days ago. But his body was still weak. And there were friggin’ guards outside his room almost all the time. Not actual guards, of course, but the Millers were always there. And the doctors and social workers were all in line with the proxy order. Meaning they wouldn’t let him leave.
He stared out the window again, having moved his wheelchair as close to it as possible. He actually had to hold a part of himself back from just jumping out the window. Anything to end this mindless waiting. No matter what he did, he wasn’t well enough to make his own decisions, according to the doctors. According to his supposed parents.
“Noah?”
Speak of the devils. He turned in his chair slowly, meeting their gazes. Eric and Autumn entered the room without a doctor or therapist, thank God. Autumn was watching him gently, sadly. Like he was a puppy stuck in a pound. A pound you put me in. “How are you feeling today? Any better?” she asked, sounding almost hopeful.
“I feel a lot better,” his voice was dull, but he kept it civil. “I’m ready to go back to Oakdale.”
He watched them exchange a practiced glance, and really wished he had the energy to get really angry. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, son,” Eric spoke next.
Noah took a few more deep breaths. “It doesn’t really matter what you think. Or shouldn’t matter. I’m doing better. I can take care of myself. And I want to go back.”
“You’re not ready to make those kinds of decisions yet,” Eric argued. “The doctors don’t think you’re ready.”
“The doctors don’t because you don’t,” he shot back. “This whole thing is wrong. Something is wrong, something is…” He took another deep breath, reminding himself that getting worked up wouldn’t help his cause. “I know you think you’re doing what’s best for me, but you have to trust me. This isn’t right. I need to be back with-”
Autumn shook her head desperately. “Noah, I don’t know what kind of hold that family has over you, but it doesn’t have to be your entire life! You can have a family of your own, you can have us!”
Noah stared at her, shocked. “What kind of ‘hold’ they have? They’re not the ones keeping me locked up in a hospital!” He gripped the arms of his wheelchair tightly. “You don’t even know them, do you? They’ve been everything to me! They’ve saved me in ways you can’t even… No, no. You don’t know them. And you obviously don’t know me either.”
“You’re our son!” Eric’s voice got louder too. “Our son, not theirs. How are we ever supposed to make this right if you can’t even be with us?”
“How can I be with you when you force me to be here?” Noah fired back.
Autumn looked so confused, and Noah couldn’t figure out why. This whole thing made his brain fuzzy, and he hoped to God that wasn’t because of his injury. “We’re not forcing you, Noah,” she tried to explain. “We’re trying to help you. We’re trying to show you that we are your family, not those people.”
Noah was about to shake his head, argue some more, when Eric spoke up. “You know none of them have tried to contact us, right? And they haven’t even called the hospital to see how you are. How can they be this great family, your friends, if they don’t even want to know how you’re doing?”
Noah flinched. No. No, that couldn’t be true. It was just like last year- the Colonel had said no one was looking for him then. But they had been, they had saved him. “You’re lying.”
Eric shook his head, looking sincerely regretful. “I’m not, son. I’m sorry. But how can we just let you go back to these people, who forget about you the minute you’re out of sight? How can we call ourselves good parents, and let you go back to that town where all you seem to do is get hurt, all the time?”
Noah was shaking again. No, it wasn’t true. He wasn’t going to fall for that again. “No.”
Autumn took a small step forward. “That’s why we’re here, Noah. To show you that we’re not going to forget about you. We’re not leaving you behind. Not again.”
He closed his eyes, willing everything to stop pounding into his brain. “No,” he said again, but even he could tell his voice was weaker.
“The doctors don’t think you’re ready to have the proxy lifted,” Eric said quietly, also coming closer. “You’re still hurt, and you’re still having nightmares. So until they do, we have to take care of you. We want to. As long as we have any say, you’re going to be a part of our family. And no one else’s.”
Noah bit his lip, almost hard enough to make it bleed. He wanted to call Luke. He wanted Krista to tell him she was sorry about all of this. But neither of them were here now. Would it matter if they were? All of this was out of his control.
“Honey,” Autumn whispered. “God didn’t give you back to us just so you could leave again.”
He couldn’t hear this, he couldn’t do this. He locked the wheels of his chair and slowly stood up, hobbling and limping his way to his bed. Hands reached out to help him, but he bitterly shoved them away, as hard as he could. Eric stumbled back a step or two, hands up soothingly. As Noah settled down in the bed, he glared at the hands, and Eric went back to stand next to Autumn.
“Just give it some time, okay?” she tried to reason again. “It’s been… sweetie, it’s been twenty years. We’ll figure this out.” That’s what Luke said. But can anyone really do anything? I don’t want to keep doing this. “When we lost Andrew-”
“Stop it!” he yelled. He had no idea where it came from, but he couldn’t get himself to care. Autumn and Eric took a step back in shock. “Just stop! I’m not Andrew, okay? Maybe I once was, but I’m not anymore. I don’t want to be! My name is Noah!”
“Hey, son, it’s-” Eric looked like he wanted to try placating him, but no.
“I don’t want to be your son either!” he was still shouting. He couldn’t stop himself now. He idly wondered if the people out in the hall could hear him, but the part of his brain that Luke always called his ‘manners filter’ was gone. “I don’t want to be in this family, and I don’t want to be here!” He collapsed back on the bed, so tired. “I already have a family, and you’re not it. I’m done here. I want to go home.”
************
Casey let himself into the farmhouse kitchen cautiously, very unsure of why exactly he was here. And he was brought up short by the sight in front of him. Jade was sitting at the table. He and Jade had yet to figure out the whole ‘dating’ thing. Each time they had tried, it had amounted to twenty minutes of awkward talking, and then lots and lots of sex.
Not that Casey was really complaining.
“Hey, um…” was his brilliant greeting. Luckily he was saved when he realized someone else was in the kitchen too, leaning against the sink. “Oh. Hey Lucy.”
“Hey Casey,” she smirked a little, looking back and forth between him and Jade. Casey kept his head down and took the seat next to Jade. “So Luke called you too?”
“Yep,” he nodded. “Any idea why?” he asked both girls.
Jade shook her head. “He’s been jittery and tense all week. I don’t know when the last time he spoke to Noah was, but I’m betting this has something to do with-”
The screen door shut with a bang, interrupting her, and a second later Luke entered the kitchen. He was moving a lot better, Casey was relieved to note, and recovering well. But the reason Casey really knew Luke was back to fighting form? The look of fierce, resolute, I-will-walk-through-a-brick-wall-if-it-gets-in-my-way determination on his face.
“What’s going on, Luke?” Lucy asked, moving over to sit on the other side of Jade. “Why did you call us over here?”
Luke rested against the island, facing them, arms crossed. “Noah’s been gone for a month,” he stated quietly. Casey almost flinched. He couldn’t believe it had been that long. Man, he needed Noah back here pronto. For one thing, Noah would be able to tell him how to fix this thing with Jade. For another, Casey was dangerously close to failing his next geology test without him.
“But it’s gotten better, hasn’t it?” Jade tried. “You’ve been talking to him on the phone and…” she trailed off at the dark look on Luke’s face.
“I haven’t talked to him in a week,” he told them.
Casey’s jaw dropped. “A week? But, but how? I thought the sister was, like, on Team Oakdale now. What happened?”
Luke regarded each of them sadly, finally sitting at the table with them. He glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby, then began talking again. “I didn’t hear from them for a day or two, so I started calling Krista. Every day. And no answer. I left message after message, and-”
“Did they do something?” Jade burst out. “Did they take him, or move him somewhere else? What if-?” Casey put his arm around her instinctively, and was more than a little surprised that she didn’t shrug it off.
Luke shook his head. “Krista finally answered this morning. She couldn’t talk long, but she wanted me to know.” His voice had gone dull. Casey swallowed back his fear, fought the urge to put an arm around him too.
“Know what?” Lucy prompted softly.
Luke stared at his hands where they were resting flat on the tablecloth. “Noah got into an argument with his… with the parents. Last week. And since then, he hadn’t responded to any of them, even Krista. He hasn’t talked to anyone in days.”
“What?” Casey watched him, feeling himself shake a little in his seat. “How- he hasn’t talked? To anyone?”
Luke bit the inside of his cheek to keep control. “He’s not even listening to the doctors or nurses anymore. He’s not doing his physical therapy. Whatever happened in that fight, he… he’s shutting down.”
“Luke, he can’t do that,” Lucy protested, her voice still quiet. “If he does, the doctors won’t lift the medical proxy. They won’t let him leave of his own volition!”
“I know,” Luke was still way too calm. Casey was beyond worried. “Krista said if he doesn’t start cooperating soon the doctors really are going to think he can’t take care of himself, like, long-term.”
“They can’t do that!” Jade argued.
Casey felt himself nodding before he even realized it. “No way. Of course Noah isn’t going to get better there, he’s basically a prisoner! He needs us- you- for help.”
“Case, you’re not saying anything I don’t already know,” Luke was still staring at his hands. “It’s why I called you guys. And Ali and Hunter, they’re doing something for me right now. But… we need to act. Fast. I can’t have Noah go back to the shell that he was last year.”
Casey’s panic stuttered and flared. God, he hated thinking about that day. The day he and Luke had found Noah in the basement of that cabin. And he hadn’t even been really close to Noah then, not like he was now. Now, he considered Noah to be one of his best friends. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle losing Noah- and what made Noah ‘Noah’- now.
“So what do we do?” Jade asked, face as set and determined as her cousin. In fact, all three cousins looked pretty on board with this, whatever this was.
“And what are Alison and Hunter doing?” Casey asked, wary.
“And who’s Hunter?” Lucy looked just as confused.
Luke finally looked up at them all. “I have a plan to get Noah back.”
“How?” Lucy asked warily. “And how do we fit into all this?”
“If you want to help me,” Luke looked at each of them in turn, “You have to decide right now. Because I’m going to Georgia. Tomorrow.”
TO BE CONTINUED! Coming Up: Luke forms his rescue team, Jack solves one case but it leads to another, someone escapes and goes on the run, one couple ends while another reunites, two people share an intimate moment (sorry, couldn't resist!)...
Chapter: 12a/16 - Pretty Strangers And The Promises They Hold
Author: carolinablu85. or you can call me Ella! (or you can call me Al, if you like the song...)
Characters: Luke/Noah, Casey, Hunter, the Millers (OC), Bob, Lily, Jade, Marcus (OC), Lucy
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: sequel to my fic "Sins of the Father," refers to lots of things that happened in that story, takes place a few months later!
Summary: Luke tries to get news about Noah, Casey and Jade attempt a first date, Krista worries about Noah's progress, a super-secret rescue plan is made.
Disclaimer: I disclaim. I own a pair of sneakers, a cellphone, and some other stuff. The show? Nope, not that.
Author's Note: This chapter's title is brought to you by the song "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits, though there are some great cover versions by Matt Nathanson, Indigo Girls, and the Killers.
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10a / Chapter 10b / Chapter 11a / Chapter 11b / Chapter 12a /
The knock on his door startled Marcus out of his thoughts, to the point of almost causing him to knock over his mug of now cold coffee. “Come in?” He had no idea who it could be. Noah was his only patient, and Noah was…
The door opened slowly, and Marcus fought against reacting with surprise. Luke stood there, wary and nervous. “Hey doc,” he gave a little wave.
“Luke, hello,” he stood from behind his desk, beckoning. “Come on in, son.”
Luke offered a smile and made his way to the couch, settling himself down gently. “I’m not, um, bothering you or interrupting, am I?”
He smiled in return. “Of course not. I need the distraction, truthfully.”
“Yeah, me too,” Luke replied quietly. He brushed a nonexistent piece of dirt off his shirt.
“How are you feeling? Your grandmother said you’re staying at the house?” Marcus asked.
Luke nodded, glancing around at the office, the photos and decorations scattered throughout. Marcus let him, watched him, unconsciously doing the same thing he did when Noah was in the room. Letting him get his bearings, get comfortable in the environment so he could talk.
Finally, Luke turned to him. “I still get tired pretty easily, and a little dizzy. But I can walk around Old Town and the farm and the house without falling over, and Mom seems to think my eating habits are back to normal, so…” he shrugged.
Marcus laughed softly at the joke, because he knew Luke wanted him to. “That’s good to hear.” He paused for a moment before continuing on. “Has there been any news on the hit-and-run?”
Luke grimaced. “Not yet. Jack’s been working, like, overtime trying to find the car that hit us. Considering everything that’s happened because of it, I don’t blame the person for running. People are seriously wanting to blame this guy for everything.”
“What about you?” Marcus asked. “Do you want the person punished?”
“Of course I do,” Luke looked confused. “That person almost killed us, and didn’t even stop to see if we were okay, I mean-”
“But is this the person you’re angry at?” Marcus cut in quietly. This was why Luke was here to visit him, Marcus knew it. He needed to talk all of this out.
“No,” Luke admitted. “I’m angry at a lot of people though.” He tapped his fingers anxiously against his leg. “I mean, the Millers, of course. They’re hurting Noah, and they’re going to ruin any chance of having a good relationship with him because of this.”
“And they took him away from you,” Marcus pointed out.
“Away from all of us,” Luke responded, raising an eyebrow at Marcus knowingly.
Good God, he looked just like Lucinda when he did that. Marcus had to fight the urge to sigh and pour his own worries out. Now was not the time for that, his own insecurities. If he couldn’t help Noah right now, then the least he could do was help Luke. Noah would want that.
“They’re not the only people you’ve been angry with though, are they?” his expression back at Luke was just as knowing.
Luke sighed. “I screwed things up even more with my dad.” He shrugged. “I know I need to make things right with him, especially now, but I just… I just can’t. And after everything I said to him the day they took Noah away-”
“You know he doesn’t blame you for that, Luke,” Marcus was quick to point out.
“He should,” Luke responded immediately. “I lashed out at him because he was there, and because we were already fighting. It was the easiest. But I- I don’t know, at the time it seemed like he was taking everything in stride so easily. Like he was letting Noah go. I wanted him to fight. Like I wanted to fight. Like I couldn’t.”
“None of us could fight it,” Marcus knew they were getting to the heart of the matter now. “I was with Holden when they airlifted Noah away. He was… I imagine it’s what he would look like if you or your siblings were ever taken like that. He was losing one of his kids.”
Luke’s eyes were shut tight. “I know,” he mumbled. “I know. But I can’t. Every time we’re in the same room now I just feel angry and guilty and tense and it’s like he feels the same way. I can’t stop it.” His fingers were tapping anxiously again. “I can’t focus. I can’t center myself. I don’t know what to do.”
Marcus studied him quietly for a moment, wondering how honest he should be. With Noah, he knew he could be blunt, that Noah appreciated getting straight to a point and being forced to confront it. Luke probably needed a different tactic. “How do you usually center yourself?”
Luke bit his lip. “Noah. Either having him nearby or knowing he’d be nearby if I needed him.”
He nodded, expecting that answer. “And before you met Noah? What did you do then?”
Luke looked startled by the question. “Huh?”
Marcus smiled calmly. “You were alive for seventeen years before you met Noah. You’d been a teenager for four. How did you center yourself then?”
One side of Luke’s mouth quirked up in a reluctant smile. “Writing.”
“Well,” Marcus sat back, unconsciously mimicking the movement that he did whenever Noah had a breakthrough in a session. “There’s nothing stopping you from that now, is there? What was it about writing that got you focused?”
Luke cocked his head to one side, thinking. “It… it made me think about everything. What I saw, what I felt. When I had to transfer thoughts from my brain down onto paper, I’d have to understand what I was writing before I could write it.” A self-conscious shrug. “It made me think.”
“All that in past-tense,” he shook his head, smile turning sad. “Why can’t you do that now? At least until Noah gets back?”
Luke opened his mouth to answer, but couldn’t seem to find the words. Finally he shook his head. “I guess… I guess nothing’s stopping me?”
Marcus nodded, encouraging. “I think it might help, Luke. Definitely can’t hurt. And if you can write down all your feelings about this fight with your father, maybe it’ll help you figure out what you should feel. What you should say to him.”
Luke seemed to be nodding without even realizing it. “Yeah, maybe. But-”
The ringing of his cell phone cut him off, and they both looked surprised for a second. Marcus wasn’t used to one going off during a session, but then he had to remind himself that this wasn’t actually a session to begin with. “Go ahead,” he waved an okay to Luke.
Luke pulled the phone out of his pocket sheepishly. “Sorry, it’s just…” he trailed off, frowning at the unknown number. “Hello?” he answered cautiously. Then his eyes widened and he sat straight up. “Yeah, this is Luke.” He pulled the phone away for just a second, staring at Marcus. “It’s Krista.”
************
Noah heard the door open, and he could tell by the slow speed of it that it wasn’t a nurse. Besides, by his guess it was 4:30, and the next rotation wouldn’t be in until 5:05. They had their routines down to the minute here. Normally Noah wouldn’t mind the structure or precision of it, but stuck here? It just reminded him of the minutes and days and weeks (God, it had really been two weeks now) that he was away from Oakdale.
But no, this wasn’t a nurse. The soft, almost tentative steps coming towards him also meant it wasn’t Eric or Justin, not that Justin came into this room that often. Especially not alone. So it was either Autumn or Krista. Right now, Noah didn’t really care. It wasn’t who he wanted.
He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, hoping they’d think he was asleep and leave him alone. If he had to hear one more time how he was better off here without the Snyders, he might just scream. Go away go away go away…
“Noah?” It was Krista. Damn, he couldn’t really be mean to her. Out of everyone, she seemed the least comfortable with this whole deal. “Noah, can you wake up for me, please? I have… I have something for you.”
He sighed softly, fighting the urge to cough when it got stuck in his throat. Then slowly, he opened his eyes and turned over onto his back, facing her. She tried to smile at him, then held out her cell phone.
He frowned, confused and a little suspicious, but took it from her with one slightly shaky hand. Stupid coordination still wasn’t great. He held the phone up to his ear out of instinct, but still looked at Krista. “What-?”
The second he spoke, a soft sigh was heard on the other end of the line. “Hey, baby.”
He froze, more than a little convinced that this was a trick. “Luke?” his voice sounded rough, so he cleared his throat and tried again. “Luke? It’s really- are you there? Luke?”
“Hey. I’m here,” Noah could hear the tears in his voice even over the cell connection. He barely noticed Krista move back out of the room, standing guard right outside of his door. All of his focus was on the tiny little phone in his hands. His lifeline. “Are you okay, Noah? Are you feeling okay, are you-”
“Are you okay?” Noah burst out, gripping the phone tighter. “Luke, they haven’t told me anything. You were in the car with me. And Jade! Are you okay? Are you still in the hospital, what’s going on?”
“I’m fine, love, I swear,” Luke assured him. “Had a couple injuries, but I’ve been home resting for days now. I promise I’m okay. And Jade too, she has a broken wrist but she’s totally fine.” Noah sighed with relief, feeling at least that much weight lift off his shoulders. “What about you? And you damn well better tell me the truth, mister.”
God, he wanted to crawl through the phone line and be there with Luke, see that mock-stern look on his face. “I’m okay. My head still hurts sometimes, and I get really dizzy? But I’m okay. And my leg is fine, I can stand up and walk around my room and stuff.” He shook his head, done talking about the stupid accident. “I miss you. I miss you so much, baby, I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, hey, none of this is your fault, I promise,” Luke spoke determinedly. “Just concentrate on getting better, okay? Whatever the doctors say to do, you do it. Prove to them that you can take care of yourself so they let you out of this stupid proxy-thing. Then you can come home and never have to miss me again. Ever.”
“I don’t understand it, Luke,” he said quietly. “How this happened. I don’t want to be here.”
“I know, Noah. I don’t want it either,” Luke was quick to say. “We’ll get this all fixed. But for right now, you have to get better. Okay?”
“I love you,” he felt compelled to say.
He could picture Luke’s face from here. That soft, dare-he-think-angelic smile. Where his whole face lots all its edges and lines, and just seemed to glow from within. He’d give his right arm to see it now. Hell, he’d give both arms and a leg to see it now.
“I love you too,” came the immediate, unwavering response. Luke was quiet for a second before continuing. “Krista called me, she said you needed me. Now, I know that’s true on a normal basis, but did something happen to scare her?”
He nodded before remembering Luke couldn’t see him. “Panic attack,” he admitted softly.
“Nightmare?” Luke guessed. He didn’t wait for Noah to answer. “What about?”
Noah struggled with the best way to phrase this. “The hospital room. Being trapped. And…” he took a deep breath. “He was there.”
Luke didn’t need to ask who ‘he’ was. “How many of those dreams have you had?”
“A couple,” Noah couldn’t lie, not now. Not when this was his only communication with Luke. His free hand tightened into a fist, wishing it had a specific hand to hold.
“I’m so sorry, Noah. I wish I could be there. I wish you could be here. We,” Luke’s voice broke for a second, but then he continued. “We all miss you so much. All of us. The kids keep asking where you are, and Casey’s going crazy, and Grandma keeps baking things… we miss you.”
“I miss you too,” he whispered. “I’m gonna come home. As soon as I can. I promise, Luke. I promise.”
“I know,” Luke was swift in reassuring him. “Just hang on a little while longer, okay? Do what the doctors say and get better, and we’ll all be waiting for you here.”
“Yeah?” he hated that his voice cracked.
“Duh, moron,” Luke teased. “Maybe we’ll even have a party. I mean, I can’t promise it, depends on if anyone’s free…”
He laughed, realizing how long it had been since he’d done that. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to disrupt anything. I know how busy Natalie’s T-ball schedule is.”
There was another pause, a heavy one. “She’s been watching a lot of movies lately. Faith suggested it, something for them to do when they miss you.”
Noah banged his head back against the pillow. “Will you… will you tell them I miss them too? Everyone? Tell them I’m okay?”
“Of course I will.”
“They don’t want me to leave,” he confessed quietly, urgently, unsure if Krista could hear him or not. “They keep telling me I shouldn’t go back. I don’t understand what’s going on half the time, Luke, but I promise I’m not going to give in to them.”
“God, Noah…” Luke sounded so agonized in that moment, it caused an almost physical ache in his chest. “No matter what they say or do or whatever, you have to know I’m here waiting and I love you. Okay? Don’t forget that.”
Noah struggled to come up with the right words, the right way to say this. “Luke, before I met you, when it was just me and… before I met you? All I had were movies. And I had some, certain ones I would watch when I really needed to feel happy. They, I don’t know, gave me strength. Hope. That kind of stuff, whatever.” Quieter now, “I never knew something other than movies could make me feel that way. But you do. You always do.”
Another deep, choked breath sounded from the other end of the phone. “I love you so much,” Luke half-whispered.
Please don’t cry, Noah silently begged, not sure if he was talking to Luke or himself. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to hang up,” he tried to joke. Luke tried to laugh, which he appreciated.
“I don’t think I want to let you,” he answered painfully. “But you know I’m gonna be here, right? And hey, we’ve got Krista as our mole now, so we can talk any time. Any time you need me, you get her to call me.”
“Okay,” Noah hated how small he sounded, how helpless. “Luke, I-”
“Noah.” Krista stood in the doorway. “The doctor will be here any minute. And probably Mom and Dad too. You might need to hang up now.”
Noah shook his head stubbornly. “But-”
“It’s okay,” Luke must have heard her. “It’s okay. We can talk tomorrow, remember? Or later tonight maybe. We just have to be careful right now, baby. But hey, this is just temporary. We both know you’ll be home soon.”
“Yeah,” Noah exhaled. “But I can’t… I can’t hang up. I can’t hang up on you, Luke.”
Krista stepped forward, apologetic and frustrated. “Noah, give me the phone, hurry.”
Noah stared at her for a second, swallowing back his fear. He couldn’t panic now, he couldn’t. “Please…” he had no idea what he was asking for, who he was even asking. He just wanted things to be fixed.
Krista blinked hard, held her hand out. “Give me the phone,” she said gently.
He closed his eyes, whispered one more “I love you,” and placed the phone in Krista’s hand.
He was surprised when she spoke into it. “Luke, I swear. We’ll call you again as soon as we can, okay? …Yeah, yeah me too. Okay. Bye.” There was a click as she hung up the phone, then a moment of silence. “Noah?”
He didn’t open his eyes. “I don’t want to be here, Krista,” he murmured, curling onto his side away from her. “I’m sorry. I don’t.”
A hesitation, then a hand on his shoulder. “I know.” She probably would’ve said more, but the door opened yet again, this time briskly. Which meant a nurse. And more voices, sounding like Eric and Autumn. Krista squeezed his shoulder, then stepped away.
Noah let out a shaky breath, then another. A random movie quote ran through his head as he debated whether or not to be cordial today. Ever wish you could freeze frame a moment in your day, look at it and say, ‘This is not my life?’
For the first time since he woke up in Georgia and realized what was going on, Noah wanted to be drugged. He wanted to go to sleep and not wake up until all of this was over.
************
One Week Later...
It had been three weeks. Three weeks since he had left Oakdale (he’d gotten to talk to Luke four more times since that first call). Three weeks of being told nothing was his fault, that he deserved a better life than he’d had. Three weeks of hearing why he should never go near anyone with the last name Snyder ever again. Noah was ready to snap. It felt like he was being brainwashed by amateurs.
If he’d been physically and legally able to, he would have walked out days ago. But his body was still weak. And there were friggin’ guards outside his room almost all the time. Not actual guards, of course, but the Millers were always there. And the doctors and social workers were all in line with the proxy order. Meaning they wouldn’t let him leave.
He stared out the window again, having moved his wheelchair as close to it as possible. He actually had to hold a part of himself back from just jumping out the window. Anything to end this mindless waiting. No matter what he did, he wasn’t well enough to make his own decisions, according to the doctors. According to his supposed parents.
“Noah?”
Speak of the devils. He turned in his chair slowly, meeting their gazes. Eric and Autumn entered the room without a doctor or therapist, thank God. Autumn was watching him gently, sadly. Like he was a puppy stuck in a pound. A pound you put me in. “How are you feeling today? Any better?” she asked, sounding almost hopeful.
“I feel a lot better,” his voice was dull, but he kept it civil. “I’m ready to go back to Oakdale.”
He watched them exchange a practiced glance, and really wished he had the energy to get really angry. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, son,” Eric spoke next.
Noah took a few more deep breaths. “It doesn’t really matter what you think. Or shouldn’t matter. I’m doing better. I can take care of myself. And I want to go back.”
“You’re not ready to make those kinds of decisions yet,” Eric argued. “The doctors don’t think you’re ready.”
“The doctors don’t because you don’t,” he shot back. “This whole thing is wrong. Something is wrong, something is…” He took another deep breath, reminding himself that getting worked up wouldn’t help his cause. “I know you think you’re doing what’s best for me, but you have to trust me. This isn’t right. I need to be back with-”
Autumn shook her head desperately. “Noah, I don’t know what kind of hold that family has over you, but it doesn’t have to be your entire life! You can have a family of your own, you can have us!”
Noah stared at her, shocked. “What kind of ‘hold’ they have? They’re not the ones keeping me locked up in a hospital!” He gripped the arms of his wheelchair tightly. “You don’t even know them, do you? They’ve been everything to me! They’ve saved me in ways you can’t even… No, no. You don’t know them. And you obviously don’t know me either.”
“You’re our son!” Eric’s voice got louder too. “Our son, not theirs. How are we ever supposed to make this right if you can’t even be with us?”
“How can I be with you when you force me to be here?” Noah fired back.
Autumn looked so confused, and Noah couldn’t figure out why. This whole thing made his brain fuzzy, and he hoped to God that wasn’t because of his injury. “We’re not forcing you, Noah,” she tried to explain. “We’re trying to help you. We’re trying to show you that we are your family, not those people.”
Noah was about to shake his head, argue some more, when Eric spoke up. “You know none of them have tried to contact us, right? And they haven’t even called the hospital to see how you are. How can they be this great family, your friends, if they don’t even want to know how you’re doing?”
Noah flinched. No. No, that couldn’t be true. It was just like last year- the Colonel had said no one was looking for him then. But they had been, they had saved him. “You’re lying.”
Eric shook his head, looking sincerely regretful. “I’m not, son. I’m sorry. But how can we just let you go back to these people, who forget about you the minute you’re out of sight? How can we call ourselves good parents, and let you go back to that town where all you seem to do is get hurt, all the time?”
Noah was shaking again. No, it wasn’t true. He wasn’t going to fall for that again. “No.”
Autumn took a small step forward. “That’s why we’re here, Noah. To show you that we’re not going to forget about you. We’re not leaving you behind. Not again.”
He closed his eyes, willing everything to stop pounding into his brain. “No,” he said again, but even he could tell his voice was weaker.
“The doctors don’t think you’re ready to have the proxy lifted,” Eric said quietly, also coming closer. “You’re still hurt, and you’re still having nightmares. So until they do, we have to take care of you. We want to. As long as we have any say, you’re going to be a part of our family. And no one else’s.”
Noah bit his lip, almost hard enough to make it bleed. He wanted to call Luke. He wanted Krista to tell him she was sorry about all of this. But neither of them were here now. Would it matter if they were? All of this was out of his control.
“Honey,” Autumn whispered. “God didn’t give you back to us just so you could leave again.”
He couldn’t hear this, he couldn’t do this. He locked the wheels of his chair and slowly stood up, hobbling and limping his way to his bed. Hands reached out to help him, but he bitterly shoved them away, as hard as he could. Eric stumbled back a step or two, hands up soothingly. As Noah settled down in the bed, he glared at the hands, and Eric went back to stand next to Autumn.
“Just give it some time, okay?” she tried to reason again. “It’s been… sweetie, it’s been twenty years. We’ll figure this out.” That’s what Luke said. But can anyone really do anything? I don’t want to keep doing this. “When we lost Andrew-”
“Stop it!” he yelled. He had no idea where it came from, but he couldn’t get himself to care. Autumn and Eric took a step back in shock. “Just stop! I’m not Andrew, okay? Maybe I once was, but I’m not anymore. I don’t want to be! My name is Noah!”
“Hey, son, it’s-” Eric looked like he wanted to try placating him, but no.
“I don’t want to be your son either!” he was still shouting. He couldn’t stop himself now. He idly wondered if the people out in the hall could hear him, but the part of his brain that Luke always called his ‘manners filter’ was gone. “I don’t want to be in this family, and I don’t want to be here!” He collapsed back on the bed, so tired. “I already have a family, and you’re not it. I’m done here. I want to go home.”
************
Casey let himself into the farmhouse kitchen cautiously, very unsure of why exactly he was here. And he was brought up short by the sight in front of him. Jade was sitting at the table. He and Jade had yet to figure out the whole ‘dating’ thing. Each time they had tried, it had amounted to twenty minutes of awkward talking, and then lots and lots of sex.
Not that Casey was really complaining.
“Hey, um…” was his brilliant greeting. Luckily he was saved when he realized someone else was in the kitchen too, leaning against the sink. “Oh. Hey Lucy.”
“Hey Casey,” she smirked a little, looking back and forth between him and Jade. Casey kept his head down and took the seat next to Jade. “So Luke called you too?”
“Yep,” he nodded. “Any idea why?” he asked both girls.
Jade shook her head. “He’s been jittery and tense all week. I don’t know when the last time he spoke to Noah was, but I’m betting this has something to do with-”
The screen door shut with a bang, interrupting her, and a second later Luke entered the kitchen. He was moving a lot better, Casey was relieved to note, and recovering well. But the reason Casey really knew Luke was back to fighting form? The look of fierce, resolute, I-will-walk-through-a-brick-wall-if-it-gets-in-my-way determination on his face.
“What’s going on, Luke?” Lucy asked, moving over to sit on the other side of Jade. “Why did you call us over here?”
Luke rested against the island, facing them, arms crossed. “Noah’s been gone for a month,” he stated quietly. Casey almost flinched. He couldn’t believe it had been that long. Man, he needed Noah back here pronto. For one thing, Noah would be able to tell him how to fix this thing with Jade. For another, Casey was dangerously close to failing his next geology test without him.
“But it’s gotten better, hasn’t it?” Jade tried. “You’ve been talking to him on the phone and…” she trailed off at the dark look on Luke’s face.
“I haven’t talked to him in a week,” he told them.
Casey’s jaw dropped. “A week? But, but how? I thought the sister was, like, on Team Oakdale now. What happened?”
Luke regarded each of them sadly, finally sitting at the table with them. He glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby, then began talking again. “I didn’t hear from them for a day or two, so I started calling Krista. Every day. And no answer. I left message after message, and-”
“Did they do something?” Jade burst out. “Did they take him, or move him somewhere else? What if-?” Casey put his arm around her instinctively, and was more than a little surprised that she didn’t shrug it off.
Luke shook his head. “Krista finally answered this morning. She couldn’t talk long, but she wanted me to know.” His voice had gone dull. Casey swallowed back his fear, fought the urge to put an arm around him too.
“Know what?” Lucy prompted softly.
Luke stared at his hands where they were resting flat on the tablecloth. “Noah got into an argument with his… with the parents. Last week. And since then, he hadn’t responded to any of them, even Krista. He hasn’t talked to anyone in days.”
“What?” Casey watched him, feeling himself shake a little in his seat. “How- he hasn’t talked? To anyone?”
Luke bit the inside of his cheek to keep control. “He’s not even listening to the doctors or nurses anymore. He’s not doing his physical therapy. Whatever happened in that fight, he… he’s shutting down.”
“Luke, he can’t do that,” Lucy protested, her voice still quiet. “If he does, the doctors won’t lift the medical proxy. They won’t let him leave of his own volition!”
“I know,” Luke was still way too calm. Casey was beyond worried. “Krista said if he doesn’t start cooperating soon the doctors really are going to think he can’t take care of himself, like, long-term.”
“They can’t do that!” Jade argued.
Casey felt himself nodding before he even realized it. “No way. Of course Noah isn’t going to get better there, he’s basically a prisoner! He needs us- you- for help.”
“Case, you’re not saying anything I don’t already know,” Luke was still staring at his hands. “It’s why I called you guys. And Ali and Hunter, they’re doing something for me right now. But… we need to act. Fast. I can’t have Noah go back to the shell that he was last year.”
Casey’s panic stuttered and flared. God, he hated thinking about that day. The day he and Luke had found Noah in the basement of that cabin. And he hadn’t even been really close to Noah then, not like he was now. Now, he considered Noah to be one of his best friends. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle losing Noah- and what made Noah ‘Noah’- now.
“So what do we do?” Jade asked, face as set and determined as her cousin. In fact, all three cousins looked pretty on board with this, whatever this was.
“And what are Alison and Hunter doing?” Casey asked, wary.
“And who’s Hunter?” Lucy looked just as confused.
Luke finally looked up at them all. “I have a plan to get Noah back.”
“How?” Lucy asked warily. “And how do we fit into all this?”
“If you want to help me,” Luke looked at each of them in turn, “You have to decide right now. Because I’m going to Georgia. Tomorrow.”
TO BE CONTINUED! Coming Up: Luke forms his rescue team, Jack solves one case but it leads to another, someone escapes and goes on the run, one couple ends while another reunites, two people share an intimate moment (sorry, couldn't resist!)...