NEW! "Caught By The River - Part Two" (Nuke/ATWT/Angels Lie 'verse)
Title: Caught by the River - Part One of Two
What It Is: Oneshot in two...okay, three parts/Songfic/"Angels Lie" 'verse
Pairing: Nuke
Rating: M for language
Prompt: Still another sequel to “Angels Lie”!
Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em. Don’t make no money.
link
When last we left our heroes...
There’s an angry bellow from the squad room, and Holden jumps in alarm. Several other voices start shouting. Holden recognizes Jack and Dallas. There’s a crash, and the original voice bellows again in rage, a long string of partially-muffled obscenities.
"What the hell?” Holden asks.
It’s Noah’s reaction that brings it home. The blank expression on his face doesn’t change, but his entire body starts to shake reflexively.
Colonel Winston Mayer, Holden realizes, is still very much alive.
And now...Caught By The River, Part Two
***
For a moment, Holden feels a rush of conflicting emotions. Rage. Relief. Fear. His hands shake with the effort to control his reaction. Part of him wants to drop to his knees and thank God that Noah didn’t kill his father; the other part wants to storm into the squad room and beat Colonel Mayer to a dead and bloody pulp.
Instead, he forces himself to focus on the task at hand. He pours a cup of coffee for Noah and one for himself. Remembering his Boy Scout First Aid, he adds creamer and two packets of sugar to Noah’s cup, in case he’s going into shock.
He eases the water bottle out of Noah’s hand and replaces it with the cup. “Drink this. It’ll warm you up.”
Noah looks at the coffee and makes a face, and for the first time Holden catches a glimpse of his old self. “I take it black.”
"Indulge me.” It’s the same firm tone Holden uses with his kids when they’re being their most recalcitrant. Of course, it doesn’t seem to work much anymore, particularly with the most stubborn member of his brood.
But Noah isn’t Luke. He drinks obediently, and a hint of color comes back in his face. After a few moments, his shivering eases, although his eyes remain glazed, his body tense, as he stares fixedly at the floor. Holden can tell he’s listening for his father’s voice, every nerve strained, although the yelling in the squad room has ceased.
The howl of the emergency sirens has stopped as well, Holden notes, and the storm has passed, the thunder rumbling softly in the distance rather than crashing overhead. The pelting rain on the windows has eased to a soothing patter. The break room suddenly seems a sanctuary, warm and dry, a bright beacon against the wild darkness outside.
As Holden watches, Noah’s eyelids flutter tiredly, and he wraps his fingers around the cup, absently reveling in its warmth. The action reveals numerous scrapes and bruises on his knuckles. Holden hesitates, not sure if he wants to risk asking about them.
Jack walks into the room, and Noah jerks awake instantly. “Where’s my father?”
"In an ambulance, on his way to the hospital,” Jack answers as he pours himself coffee.
Holden bristles. “The hospital? What the hell for?”
"He needed medical attention,” Jack replies with infuriating calm.
"So what?” Holden snaps. “Lock the bastard up. Who cares if he’s hurt?”
"He needed medical attention,” Jack continues in the same maddening tone, stirring his coffee. “And the last thing I need is some defense lawyer saying I didn’t get it for him when he asked. Or claiming my officers beat the sonofabitch and I tried to cover it up.”
"Did they?” Holden asks quietly.
“Nobody laid a finger on him.” Jack’s jaw twitches, and Holden can guess how much control it took for Jack to hold himself back. “We arrested a dangerous fugitive, he said he needed medical attention, we got it for him. I don’t want some fancypants state agent saying my office dropped the ball on this case,” he adds bitterly. “If anything happens on my watch, we’re doing it by the book.”
“Makes sense,” Holden concedes. He wonders which state agent has got his cousin so pissed off.
Jack pulls up a chair and sits opposite Noah. “Don’t worry,” he tells him. “Dallas and two patrol officers are with him, and the state boys are on their way. Your father’s not going anywhere.”
Noah nods stiffly, but Holden can see his shoulders relax a fraction.
Jack sips his coffee and frowns at Noah. “Buddy, what happened to your shoes?”
The question catches Noah off guard, and he blinks down at his bare feet as if surprised to find them attached to his body. “Uh, I don’t really remember.”
“Where’s Jimmy Moloney?”
Noah flinches, and the coffee sloshes in his cup.
“That’s his car out front, right?” Jack continues smoothly. “The Plymouth?”
“Yeah.” Noah’s tone is casual, but body starts to shiver again.
Alarmed, Holden interrupts. “Who’s Jimmy Moloney?”
Jack keeps his eyes on Noah as he answers. “Mayer’s cellmate in Statesville. He got sprung a few months ago and was Mayer’s man on the outside. He arranged for the getaway car. Stole his granddaddy’s Plymouth, isn’t that right, Noah?”
“Yeah.” Noah’s voice catches, and he clears his throat. “They fixed up the trunk so my dad could hide in there. Figured the cops would be looking for him, not for Jimmy, so they could get across state lines without being stopped.”
“Pretty clever.” Jack nods. “So where’s Moloney now?”
Noah finally looks up at Jack. His eyes are blank and cool. “Dead.”
“You sure about that?” Jack asks calmly. He’s using his cop voice, Holden realizes, the one that puts people at ease.
Noah frowns, uncertain. “Pretty sure.”
“Uh-huh. Why don’t you tell me what happened?” Jack leans back in his chair and drinks his coffee. “Start at the beginning. When you left Oakdale, how did you find your father?”
“He found me.” Noah’s eyes are bleak. “I knew he would.”
The muscle in Jack’s jaw twitches again, but he merely nods. “What happened when he found you?”
“I told him...” Noah looks down at his bruised hands, wrapped tight around his coffee cup. “I told him he was right in what he said last year. That we should go away together and start over again somewhere else. I said I felt bad for putting him in prison and that I wanted to help him get away, to make up for it.”
“Did he believe you?”
Noah takes a sip of coffee, and his eyes go blank again. “Eventually.”
“What happened next?” Jack asks.
Noah ducks his head and rubs the back of his neck. “They made me drive. Jimmy sat in the back seat and held a gun to my head, in case I tried to get away. Then it started to storm.”
Noah’s eyes become distant. “I started driving faster, but just a little bit at a time, so he wouldn’t notice. Then there was this huge bolt of lightning.” He closes his eyes. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It split the sky open.”
“And that’s when you made your move?”
Noah opens his eyes. “I crashed the car into the side of a bridge, going eighty.”
“Ouch,” Jack comments mildly. “That must be how your father got that nasty gash on his forehead. Did you get the jump on Moloney?”
“Kind of. He wasn’t hurt, but he was shaken, enough that I could haul him out of the back seat.”
“Did you shoot him?” Jack asks mildly.
Noah’s lip twist in self-reproach. “Nah. He kicked me, and I went down. We fought over the gun.” Noah’s eyes narrow as he remembers. “We were on a side road, in all this gravel and mud, just beating the shit out of each other. It was raining so hard I could barely see. I thought, ‘Okay, this is it. This is how I’m gonna die.’” He laughs bitterly. “Like a scene from some stupid action movie.”
“Noah.”
Startled back into the present, Noah blinks at Jack. “Yeah?”
“Did you shoot him?”
“The gun went off...I’m pretty sure it hit him.” Noah frowns.
“And then?”
“I shoved him into the gully by the side of the road. It was flooded because of all the rain. I held him under the water until he stopped moving.” Noah’s voice is eerily calm. “Then I got back in the car and kept driving.”
He shakes his head, reproach on his face again. “I told myself to pull over. Just pull over, open the trunk, empty the clip, and that would be the end of it. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill my father.”
He looks at Holden, and his eyes fill with tears. “I’m so sorry.”
“Noah.” Holden steps forward, but Noah shrinks back, retreating into himself. Holden forces himself to stand still.
“I’m sorry,” Noah says again. “I wanted to kill him. I wanted to protect...” He hesitates. “I didn’t want him to hurt anybody ever again. But I couldn’t do it. Even after everything he’s done.”
“What happened next?” Jack prompts gently.
“I saw the sign for Oakdale.” Noah smiles through his tears. “It was like a miracle. I didn’t know where the hell we were in all that rain. I wasn’t even sure we were still in Illinois. Then I saw the turn-off.” He shrugs. “Figured I let you arrest the sonofabitch and be done with it.”
Noah takes a deep breath and sets his coffee cup on the side table next to the sofa. “That’s it, end of story. And now I’m going home.”
Jack doesn’t move. “I just have one last question.”
Noah scowls. “Jack, I’m tired. I just want to sleep.” His voice trembles.
“That’s fine. Holden here can drive you home when we’re done. Right, Holden?”
“Sure, no problem.” Holden’s not sure what Jack’s strategy is, but he trusts him enough to play along.
Impatiently, Noah wipes the tears from his face with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. “Fine. What’s your question?
Jack leans forward in his chair. “Tell me what happened on the boat.”
Son,
What are you doing?
You learned a hard lesson,
when you stood by the water.
You and I were so full of love and hope.
Would you give it all up now?
Would you give in just to spite them all?
And you give it all away.
Would you give it all away now?
Don't let it come apart.
Don't want to see you come apart.
Could you give it all away,
And you give it all away now.
Don't let it come apart.
Don't want to see you come apart.
To be continued...
***
Lyrics from “Caught By The River,” by Doves
What It Is: Oneshot in two...okay, three parts/Songfic/"Angels Lie" 'verse
Pairing: Nuke
Rating: M for language
Prompt: Still another sequel to “Angels Lie”!
Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em. Don’t make no money.
link
When last we left our heroes...
There’s an angry bellow from the squad room, and Holden jumps in alarm. Several other voices start shouting. Holden recognizes Jack and Dallas. There’s a crash, and the original voice bellows again in rage, a long string of partially-muffled obscenities.
"What the hell?” Holden asks.
It’s Noah’s reaction that brings it home. The blank expression on his face doesn’t change, but his entire body starts to shake reflexively.
Colonel Winston Mayer, Holden realizes, is still very much alive.
And now...Caught By The River, Part Two
***
For a moment, Holden feels a rush of conflicting emotions. Rage. Relief. Fear. His hands shake with the effort to control his reaction. Part of him wants to drop to his knees and thank God that Noah didn’t kill his father; the other part wants to storm into the squad room and beat Colonel Mayer to a dead and bloody pulp.
Instead, he forces himself to focus on the task at hand. He pours a cup of coffee for Noah and one for himself. Remembering his Boy Scout First Aid, he adds creamer and two packets of sugar to Noah’s cup, in case he’s going into shock.
He eases the water bottle out of Noah’s hand and replaces it with the cup. “Drink this. It’ll warm you up.”
Noah looks at the coffee and makes a face, and for the first time Holden catches a glimpse of his old self. “I take it black.”
"Indulge me.” It’s the same firm tone Holden uses with his kids when they’re being their most recalcitrant. Of course, it doesn’t seem to work much anymore, particularly with the most stubborn member of his brood.
But Noah isn’t Luke. He drinks obediently, and a hint of color comes back in his face. After a few moments, his shivering eases, although his eyes remain glazed, his body tense, as he stares fixedly at the floor. Holden can tell he’s listening for his father’s voice, every nerve strained, although the yelling in the squad room has ceased.
The howl of the emergency sirens has stopped as well, Holden notes, and the storm has passed, the thunder rumbling softly in the distance rather than crashing overhead. The pelting rain on the windows has eased to a soothing patter. The break room suddenly seems a sanctuary, warm and dry, a bright beacon against the wild darkness outside.
As Holden watches, Noah’s eyelids flutter tiredly, and he wraps his fingers around the cup, absently reveling in its warmth. The action reveals numerous scrapes and bruises on his knuckles. Holden hesitates, not sure if he wants to risk asking about them.
Jack walks into the room, and Noah jerks awake instantly. “Where’s my father?”
"In an ambulance, on his way to the hospital,” Jack answers as he pours himself coffee.
Holden bristles. “The hospital? What the hell for?”
"He needed medical attention,” Jack replies with infuriating calm.
"So what?” Holden snaps. “Lock the bastard up. Who cares if he’s hurt?”
"He needed medical attention,” Jack continues in the same maddening tone, stirring his coffee. “And the last thing I need is some defense lawyer saying I didn’t get it for him when he asked. Or claiming my officers beat the sonofabitch and I tried to cover it up.”
"Did they?” Holden asks quietly.
“Nobody laid a finger on him.” Jack’s jaw twitches, and Holden can guess how much control it took for Jack to hold himself back. “We arrested a dangerous fugitive, he said he needed medical attention, we got it for him. I don’t want some fancypants state agent saying my office dropped the ball on this case,” he adds bitterly. “If anything happens on my watch, we’re doing it by the book.”
“Makes sense,” Holden concedes. He wonders which state agent has got his cousin so pissed off.
Jack pulls up a chair and sits opposite Noah. “Don’t worry,” he tells him. “Dallas and two patrol officers are with him, and the state boys are on their way. Your father’s not going anywhere.”
Noah nods stiffly, but Holden can see his shoulders relax a fraction.
Jack sips his coffee and frowns at Noah. “Buddy, what happened to your shoes?”
The question catches Noah off guard, and he blinks down at his bare feet as if surprised to find them attached to his body. “Uh, I don’t really remember.”
“Where’s Jimmy Moloney?”
Noah flinches, and the coffee sloshes in his cup.
“That’s his car out front, right?” Jack continues smoothly. “The Plymouth?”
“Yeah.” Noah’s tone is casual, but body starts to shiver again.
Alarmed, Holden interrupts. “Who’s Jimmy Moloney?”
Jack keeps his eyes on Noah as he answers. “Mayer’s cellmate in Statesville. He got sprung a few months ago and was Mayer’s man on the outside. He arranged for the getaway car. Stole his granddaddy’s Plymouth, isn’t that right, Noah?”
“Yeah.” Noah’s voice catches, and he clears his throat. “They fixed up the trunk so my dad could hide in there. Figured the cops would be looking for him, not for Jimmy, so they could get across state lines without being stopped.”
“Pretty clever.” Jack nods. “So where’s Moloney now?”
Noah finally looks up at Jack. His eyes are blank and cool. “Dead.”
“You sure about that?” Jack asks calmly. He’s using his cop voice, Holden realizes, the one that puts people at ease.
Noah frowns, uncertain. “Pretty sure.”
“Uh-huh. Why don’t you tell me what happened?” Jack leans back in his chair and drinks his coffee. “Start at the beginning. When you left Oakdale, how did you find your father?”
“He found me.” Noah’s eyes are bleak. “I knew he would.”
The muscle in Jack’s jaw twitches again, but he merely nods. “What happened when he found you?”
“I told him...” Noah looks down at his bruised hands, wrapped tight around his coffee cup. “I told him he was right in what he said last year. That we should go away together and start over again somewhere else. I said I felt bad for putting him in prison and that I wanted to help him get away, to make up for it.”
“Did he believe you?”
Noah takes a sip of coffee, and his eyes go blank again. “Eventually.”
“What happened next?” Jack asks.
Noah ducks his head and rubs the back of his neck. “They made me drive. Jimmy sat in the back seat and held a gun to my head, in case I tried to get away. Then it started to storm.”
Noah’s eyes become distant. “I started driving faster, but just a little bit at a time, so he wouldn’t notice. Then there was this huge bolt of lightning.” He closes his eyes. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It split the sky open.”
“And that’s when you made your move?”
Noah opens his eyes. “I crashed the car into the side of a bridge, going eighty.”
“Ouch,” Jack comments mildly. “That must be how your father got that nasty gash on his forehead. Did you get the jump on Moloney?”
“Kind of. He wasn’t hurt, but he was shaken, enough that I could haul him out of the back seat.”
“Did you shoot him?” Jack asks mildly.
Noah’s lip twist in self-reproach. “Nah. He kicked me, and I went down. We fought over the gun.” Noah’s eyes narrow as he remembers. “We were on a side road, in all this gravel and mud, just beating the shit out of each other. It was raining so hard I could barely see. I thought, ‘Okay, this is it. This is how I’m gonna die.’” He laughs bitterly. “Like a scene from some stupid action movie.”
“Noah.”
Startled back into the present, Noah blinks at Jack. “Yeah?”
“Did you shoot him?”
“The gun went off...I’m pretty sure it hit him.” Noah frowns.
“And then?”
“I shoved him into the gully by the side of the road. It was flooded because of all the rain. I held him under the water until he stopped moving.” Noah’s voice is eerily calm. “Then I got back in the car and kept driving.”
He shakes his head, reproach on his face again. “I told myself to pull over. Just pull over, open the trunk, empty the clip, and that would be the end of it. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill my father.”
He looks at Holden, and his eyes fill with tears. “I’m so sorry.”
“Noah.” Holden steps forward, but Noah shrinks back, retreating into himself. Holden forces himself to stand still.
“I’m sorry,” Noah says again. “I wanted to kill him. I wanted to protect...” He hesitates. “I didn’t want him to hurt anybody ever again. But I couldn’t do it. Even after everything he’s done.”
“What happened next?” Jack prompts gently.
“I saw the sign for Oakdale.” Noah smiles through his tears. “It was like a miracle. I didn’t know where the hell we were in all that rain. I wasn’t even sure we were still in Illinois. Then I saw the turn-off.” He shrugs. “Figured I let you arrest the sonofabitch and be done with it.”
Noah takes a deep breath and sets his coffee cup on the side table next to the sofa. “That’s it, end of story. And now I’m going home.”
Jack doesn’t move. “I just have one last question.”
Noah scowls. “Jack, I’m tired. I just want to sleep.” His voice trembles.
“That’s fine. Holden here can drive you home when we’re done. Right, Holden?”
“Sure, no problem.” Holden’s not sure what Jack’s strategy is, but he trusts him enough to play along.
Impatiently, Noah wipes the tears from his face with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. “Fine. What’s your question?
Jack leans forward in his chair. “Tell me what happened on the boat.”
Son,
What are you doing?
You learned a hard lesson,
when you stood by the water.
You and I were so full of love and hope.
Would you give it all up now?
Would you give in just to spite them all?
And you give it all away.
Would you give it all away now?
Don't let it come apart.
Don't want to see you come apart.
Could you give it all away,
And you give it all away now.
Don't let it come apart.
Don't want to see you come apart.
To be continued...
***
Lyrics from “Caught By The River,” by Doves