FIC: WHEN OUR FRAMES COLLIDE 8/16

[carolinablu85]

Title: When Our Frames Collide
Chapter: 8/16 - It's So Easy To Forget That I'm Lost
Author: carolinablu85. or you can call me Ella! (or you can call me Al, if you like the song...)
Characters: Luke/Noah, Casey, Damian, Jade, Alison, Marcus (OC), Lucinda, Hunter, Maddie 
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: Damian thinks he's helping, Marcus and Lucinda worry, Casey calls for backup, Noah ends up in another cliffhanger!
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 "Suspended" by Matt Nathanson. It's absolutely one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite artists. The sweetest low-self-esteem love song ever.
Chapter 1  /  Chapter 2  /  Chapter 3  /  Chapter 4  /  Chapter 5  /  Chapter 6  /  Chapter 7  /


Casey continued to look at him, eyebrows raised, waiting for his answer. “Well? Where we going?”

Noah could only stare, shaking his head. Maybe shaking his whole body, he wasn’t sure. Things were unraveling very very fast. His hands felt numb.

Casey continued, oblivious. “I saw your truck go screaming out of the apartment complex and had this crazy hunch that I should follow you. Turns out I was right, because man I love road trips! Again, where are we going?”

Noah finally closed his mouth, swallowed hard, and tried to speak. To get his brain to form words and sentences. “I… but you can’t… you… what?” Well, so much for the sentences.

It was then that Casey realized how out of it Noah was. His face softened, and he put a hand firmly on Noah’s arm, like an anchor. Almost as good as Luke, but not quite. Oh God, Luke’s going to be so mad. “Breathe, dude. Slow, deep breaths.”

Noah tried, counting slowly in his head, replaying the breathing exercises Dr. Weston had taught him back in their very first session. They were easy, simple. Something he could do. Probably one of the few things he could do right now.

Once Casey was sure Noah was back with him, he spoke again. “Noah. Whatever’s going on, wherever you’re going, I’m not letting you go by yourself. If anyone’s going to do something stupid, I have to be involved. It’s like Oakdale Law.” Somehow he grew sad and stern at the same time. “And you have got to start remembering that you don’t get to do stuff alone anymore.”

Noah was silent for a few minutes, acutely aware that they were getting farther and farther away from Oakdale. “I bought a ticket to Augusta.”

Casey closed his eyes. “I kinda figured.” He reopened them, studying Noah seriously. “What’s going on, man? What’s with the sudden urge to ride the rails?”

Noah pulled out the folder, handing it over. “I don’t know. Luke wasn’t there and the folder was. And then I was reading it and then I was… here. I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing, Casey, at all. But I need to go there. To see this place, the house. I’m not going to meet the people, I just…” he ran out of air.

Casey looked a little shocked by the tirade, but covered it well, looking at everything in the folder. “Okay, that’s cool. If this is something you feel like you need to do, then fine. But you’re not doing it alone. I’m coming along for the ride.”

Noah stammered again. “But, but what about your classes? And Alison, and your parents and-”

Shrugging, Casey turned it right back on him. “I can handle all that. And what about you?”

He nodded, already knowing what was coming. “I have to call Luke.”

“For a start!” Casey scolded. “What about the Doc? And the Snyders? They’re going to be worried sick about you.”

Against his will, Noah’s head was ducking down. He was probably blushing too. He knew he was supposed to be better at this. He and Dr. Weston had worked on getting him to accept help, accept love, from other people. But it was still hard to remember sometimes. Especially now, with this new impending disaster and this new family that wasn’t his family. They weren’t. They couldn’t be. Really, weren’t the odds more likely that he wasn’t Andrew Miller? If he looked at it logically…

Casey was talking again. “And it doesn’t matter whether I should be home or not. You need someone here to keep you from going completely straight-jacket.” Quieter, “And it should be me. I- I need to make up for bringing Emily into this. Noah, I’m sorry-”

Noah didn’t know he had it in him, but suddenly he was laughing darkly. “Seriously, if one more person apologizes to me, I’m going to throw up.”

“Wow, you’ve really gotten so much better at letting people in,” Casey teased, punching him lightly on the arm.

“Shut up,” Noah grumbled, hoping he wasn’t smiling.

Judging by Casey’s grin, he wasn’t successful. Casey nodded anyway. “Alright, I get it. Let’s take a break from the serious talk. It’s early, and it’s a long ride to Georgia. We can figure this out later.”

They both settled back more comfortably in their seats. After a minute or two of silence, Noah spoke up quietly. “Thanks, Case.”

Casey grinned again, purposefully not looking over at him. “No problem.” After another minute of quiet, “I love you, man.”

“Shut up.”

************
Luke was sure that if it weren’t for the little distractions, he’d be enjoying a ride on a private jet to New York City. If it weren’t for the fact that he’d just left his boyfriend alone for two days. His boyfriend, who just found out that he may have been kidnapped as a child and was supposed to be someone else. And instead had lived his life with no mother and an abusive father. You know, little distractions.

He sighed, shifting yet again in what was probably a very comfortable leather seat. He tried not to fidget more when Damian took the seat next to him, eyeing him knowingly. “Don’t,” Luke held up a hand preemptively. “You’ll have to accept that I’m going to be worried about Noah the whole time I’m here.”

Damian smiled. “I am accepting that. And I’m worried about him too. But son,” he grew serious. “We have a job to do here. When you agreed to come, you were giving me your word that you could handle this responsibility.”

Luke almost snapped at him, but at the last second he conjured Fake-Noah in his head to calm him down. He reminded himself that he was supposed to be an adult now, and throwing a tempter tantrum probably wasn’t an option anymore. “I know, Damian. And I can handle this. I want you to know that I do take this seriously, and I’ll do a good job in New York.”

Damian smiled, patting Luke on the shoulder. “Do the best you can. That’s all a boss, and a father, can ask for.”

Luke grunted at that, thinking of his last talk (okay, fight) with Holden. He wished it were that simple with his dad. But Holden wanted more from Luke, wanted him to feel the same as him, think the same as him. He expected more from Luke, wouldn’t just let him be… him.

“Um, excuse me!” Fake-Noah waved a hand in his face. “Holden has only ever expected for you to be happy and safe. Need I remind you of when you came out? He accepted you! Loved you! Loves you, Luke. Don’t forget that.”

Lake mentally rolled his eyes. I know, Fake-Noah. I can’t forget that. That’s why this is so hard. He loves me, but I don’t think he trusts me. At least Damian is letting me find my own way with all of this.

Fake-Noah was about to come up with another really good argument when Luke’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Damian raised his eyebrows, looking almost expectant. “Is that Noah?”

Luke blinked at the strange tone to Damian’s voice, but shook his head, his attention going back to his phone. “Nope. A text from Jade. I’m going to give her a quick call, check in. That’s okay to do on this type of plane, right?”

Damian smiled wide. “It’s a private jet, son. We can do whatever we want.”

Luke smiled and shook his head, sometimes he still couldn’t believe his life had led him to places like this. He was busy imagining what he and Noah could do on a private jet together (and how he could ever persuade Noah to join the Mile-High Club), and almost missed Jade answering her phone. “Hey.”

“Hey!” she sounded surprised. “You didn’t have to call me back right away, you know.”

“Yeah, but I’ve got the time now, and I haven’t seen you in almost a week. What’s up?” he settled back a little more comfortably now.

“Nothing much, really. Just, between hanging out with Lily and spending time with your sisters, I feel like I haven’t talked to anyone my own age in, like, eons. So please, converse. Speak words. Make me feel normal,” she sighed dramatically.

He laughed. “I don’t think there are enough words in the world to do that.” He furrowed his eyebrows as she grumbled at him. “Hey, wait. It’s Movie Night tonight, aren’t you going?”

“No,” she answered quickly. Too quickly.

His frown stayed. “Why not? I mean, you get along fine with Alison now, there’s no reason to-”

“It’s not Alison I’m worried about, Luke.” And there was that patented Jade-is-hiding-something tone. Luke knew it all too well.

“So something happened with Casey,” Luke’s frown changed to a smirk.

She sputtered for a few seconds. “Wh- how- why do you… What makes you think it’s Casey I’m talking about?”

He stretched out a little more. “Because you and I don’t have a problem, I don’t see you and Noah having a problem, and Hunter’s still terrified of you.” He laughed a little before putting as much sincerity in his voice as possible, not wanting to piss her off. “Come on, Jade. What’s going on?”

She was quiet for a second. “I’m not doing this again, Luke. I’m… for the first time I’m a part of a group of friends where we all don’t hate each other.” He could pretty much hear her shrug over the phone. “I don’t want this to be like Will all over again.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” he rushed to reassure her. “It won’t be, as long as you’re honest about what you want. No tactics, no lies, no games. And honestly, that’s not you anymore and you know it. Cutting yourself off from the group won’t help any. Just make it worse.”

Another pause. “You can’t tell, but I’m trying really really hard not to sigh dramatically right now. I hate you when you’re all ‘right’ and stuff.”

He laughed. “Well, we both know it doesn’t happen that often. Just, please Jade, go to Movie Night. Please? I mean, the more the merrier, right? You should go.”

“Okay, okay, twist my arm why don’t you?” she grumbled a little again, before going quiet for a moment. “Wait. You kinda are twisting my arm. Why’s it such a big deal for me to go? Is everything okay?”

No. I want you to go so Noah has one more person to cheer him up and not let him freak out. But I can’t tell you because it’s not my story to tell. Everything is not okay. “Everything’s fine.”

************
Casey kept his carefree, goofy smile on his face until the moment Noah disappeared from sight, off to find a private place to call Luke. As soon as he was sure Noah couldn’t see him, he sagged down in his seat, blowing out a breath. He was worried. Really, really worried. Noah was being about as un-Noah as a Noah could be. A big part of Casey was sure his friend still wasn’t all there, that he was pretty much running on desperate, freaked-out fumes more than anything else. And at some point, he was going to fall apart.

Speaking of which. He pulled out his phone, having to make a ‘Guess what I did?’ call of his own. He hadn’t actually talked to Ali since their fight in Java, but now was as good a time as any, right?

“Hey,” she picked up on the third ring, voice cautious.

“Um, hi.” He cleared his throat. “Listen, I kinda really need you to do me a favor. Or, if this helps, a favor for Noah.”

“Okay…” she drew the word out, obviously debating. After a moment, “Okay. What’s up?”

He glanced over to where Noah had gone, making sure he wasn’t back yet. “Can you call Hunter and Jade, spread the word that Movie Night is off for tonight? And, well, maybe call my dad and tell him I’m staying over at Noah’s for the night and I won’t be home?” He wouldn’t dare ask her to call Margo. Because that would not go well.

There was nothing but silence on the other end, and just when Casey was about to make sure the call hadn’t been disconnected she burst out with, “Okay, what the hell is going on?”

“What?” he almost held an arm up to shield him from a smack before remembering Ali wasn’t actually in front of him.

She softened her voice. “Sorry, I’ll make the calls. But, for real, what the hell is going on? Because Hunter has been weird- weirder than usual, I mean. And I suggested us having lunch with Noah the other day and he got all scared and said Noah was probably busy and now you’re calling and saying all this… Hunter won’t tell me. But I know something’s going on.”

He turned his eyes heavenward, but there was no help from on high. “I won’t lie, Ali. There is something going on. But it’s Noah’s deal, not mine. It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that-”

“Does Jade know?”

Wait, what? “What?”

“Does Jade know,” Ali repeated, sounding wary.

The mention of her name twisted Casey’s gut, and he had no idea why. No idea. “If she does, I don’t know and I didn’t tell her. And I’m sorry Ali, but I won’t tell you either. I’m just here to help Noah. I’m sorry, okay?”

She sighed. “I’m sorry too. You really are a wonderful friend, Casey. You’re always there to support them and back them up. They’re lucky to have you.”

He frowned, feeling the beginnings of a headache. “Why does that sound like a bad thing?”

She laughed painfully. “Because, and I’m being selfish here, I know I am, but I see all the effort you put into your relationships with your friends, and I can’t help but wonder why you can’t put the same effort into your relationship with me.”

And if that wasn’t a nice little metaphorical punch in the gut, Casey didn’t know what was.

************
The hotel lobby was beautiful, but Damian couldn’t care less at the moment. He frowned into his cell phone. “That wasn’t what we agreed upon, Mr. Thrace. The fee doesn’t gather interest. This is not negotiable.”

“Hey, the law isn’t supposed to be negotiable either, but look where we are. Regulations are getting a lot harder to get around. I have to up my price or it just might not be worth it.”

He shook his head, his mouth opening to rattle off a list of curses in Italian, when he noticed Luke sitting down next to him, a confused look on his face. “I have to call you back. We’re not finished talking about this, Thrace.” He hung up before the man could reply.

“Everything okay?” Luke asked with a frown, eyeing Damian’s phone. He had his own cell in his hands, rotating it around, checking the display.

“Of course,” Damian smiled, sliding his phone back into his suit pocket. “Just some last minute changes to a deal.”

“What deal?” Luke set his phone down so he could look through his paperwork, trying to figure out what Damian could already be working on. They hadn’t even met with the business partners yet…

“Oh,” Damian waved a hand, keeping it light. “A possible venture for the international branch of Grimaldi Shipping. Nothing for you to worry about.” Luke opened his mouth to reply with something, so Damian pressed on. “Your first meeting is coming up, correct? With the Agathon Corporation?”

“Um, yeah,” Luke shook himself, looking down at his paperwork with more purpose now.

“The important thing with Karl is to remember that he likes confidence, he’s more likely to make deals if he thinks you have the power and the answers,” he counseled his son.

Luke nodded along. “Power and answers. Right. Things I’m normally so full of, huh?” he grinned. “Well, I’m off then. I’ll meet you back here afterwards?”

Damian smiled warmly. “Of course. Good luck, son.”

It wasn’t until after Luke had walked away that Damian spotted the cell phone. Luke had set it down to look over paperwork and must have forgotten it. And just as Damian picked it up, it started to vibrate, a name flashing across the screen. Noah.

Damian went still. He had been expecting Noah to call much sooner, the way things had been going. He also had expected Luke to call him several times. To be perfectly honest, he had half-expected Luke to cancel on the trip this morning. He hoped this was a sign of maturation that Luke was choosing his obligations over personal matters. The constant buzz of the phone stopped, and was then followed by one short one. Noah had left a voicemail.

He continued staring at it. He wasn’t exactly sure of everything that was going on, he just knew Noah had discovered some new family secret, yet another treachery of his father’s. It was horrible, he was sure, and Damian didn’t like what it was doing to Noah.

But he also didn’t like what it was doing to Luke. Instead of focusing on his future, the opportunities he had right in front of him, Luke was constantly distracted. Holden and Lily were one thing, Damian didn’t like it but he could understand Luke’s ties to them. But a significant other?

And what if this family secret of Noah’s ended up being something tragic, devastating? He didn’t want to see Luke dragged down by it too. Not if he could do something to protect his son.

The alerts on Luke’s phone flashed for a missed call and a voicemail and, before he could talk himself out of it, Damian deleted both of them. In the long run, this would be for the best. Whatever he had to do to keep Luke focused and safe from being hurt, he would do. Feeling better, Damian pocketed the phone and headed off to his own meeting.

************
Noah sat back down heavily, his arms and legs folding in close. Casey looked him over, concerned. “Did Luke yell at you?”

Noah shook his head. “He didn’t answer, so I left a voicemail. I think. It probably wasn’t my most coherent message ever.” A shrug. “He’s probably already in meetings for the day. I left a message for Dr. Weston too. Did you call your parents?”

It was Casey’s turn to shake his head. “Alison.”

And finally, finally there was a hint of a smile. “How did that go?”

“Oh, just great,” he said with an exaggerated grin. “We totally didn’t fight at all about where our relationship is going.”

“Case,” Noah’s voice went quiet, gentle. As though Casey was the guy in trouble. “Why are you with Alison?”

He opened his mouth to give the explanations he always gave when someone brought this up, but when Noah raised an eyebrow in a decent ‘cut-the-crap’ expression, he changed his mind. He blew out a frustrated breath. “Because I should be.”

Noah shook his head, doubtful. “Are you sure?”

“No, yeah, yeah. This is good for me, it’s right. I mean, look at it this way- since we’ve been together I’ve gotten back into school, I’ve held down a job, I haven’t gotten arrested, I’ve got a good group of friends…”

Noah smiled warmly. “Casey, I guess I can’t speak for anyone else, but as for me? I love Ali, but I’m not friends with you because you’re with her. Did you ever think maybe you got your life together because of who you are, not who you’re with?”

That pretty much shut Casey up. He bit the inside of his cheek, thinking it over. “But I…” Nothing else came out. He had no idea what to say. Was Noah right?

“Nobody can make you change but you,” Noah spoke into the silence. “I mean, you’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had, Case. You care about people and stick by them through anything, you make them laugh when they feel like the world is caving in, you take on their fights like they’re your own.” He smiled, waving a hand around them. “You get on a damn train to make sure they don’t go crazy.” Casey smiled at that, even as Noah grew serious again. “I don’t think you do those things because Alison is your girlfriend. I think you do them because you’re you.”

Casey stared at his friend for a full minute, shocked. “Wow,” he finally murmured. “Score one for the wise gay guy.” Noah started to laugh, until the ringing of a cell phone interrupted them. Noah quickly fumbled for it, pulling it out and looking almost desperately at the screen. Casey leaned forward. “Is it Luke?”

Noah seemed to deflate and sit up straighter at the same time. “No.” He looked up at Casey with wide, little-boy-pleading eyes. “Since, um, you are such a good friend, do you mind answering this call for me?”

Casey’s eyes narrowed. “Who is it?”

************
Lucinda looked with a surprised and concerned frown when Marcus was buzzed into her office. “Darling, what’s wrong?” she asked as the door opened. The expression on his face stole her breath.

Marcus’s eyes were cast down, forlorn and worried. “You haven’t heard from Noah today, have you?”

It’s not possible to widen and narrow one’s eyes at the same time, but Lucinda tried. “Noah? No, today’s Thursday. He has a class in the morning, and then…” Now her eyes did widen. “He didn’t come to his appointment?”

Marcus shook his head, sinking down into the leather sofa near her desk. “It would have been our first session since this madness started. I understand if he’s still upset with me after what happened that day in Java, but I still thought he would know better than to…” Another shake of his head. “With his state of mind right now, I’m worried. He’s normally very level-headed, but something like this could cause him to act out, do something rash. I should have-”

Lucinda got up and quietly sat down next to him. “I wish you wouldn’t castigate yourself so much about that.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Have you stopped feeling guilty about what happened that night in their apartment?” In the time it took for her to not answer, he gave a sad smile. “That’s what I thought.”

She smiled back. “No, what happened in Java was nothing compared to what we did to him that night. However… we all pushed him too far, sure, but Noah knows we did it out of love.”

Marcus stiffened a little. “He’s my patient, dear. I can’t be-”

“Well then you did what you did out of professional interest or what have you,” she waved away his weak and oft-repeated argument. Marcus still seemed to think that he had to keep a strict doctor-patient relationship with Noah. They all knew he cared about Noah and Luke like they were family, even if he wouldn’t admit it. Men. “Either way, Noah’s just not used to that type of pushing as a good thing. He hasn’t been a Snyder for long enough to understand that.”

He forced out a chuckle. “Very astute.”

She glared lovingly. “You spend all your time with a therapist, something’s bound to rub off.”

His laugh was more genuine, but still quiet. “Well, if Noah isn’t avoiding me, where is he?”

“Is it possible he went with Luke to New York?” she threw the idea out there.

He cocked his head to the side, considering. “Possible, but unlikely. Last time we talked, he was very set on giving Luke independence when it came to work.”

“Novel idea,” she muttered.

It was his turn to look stern. “You’re going to have to let Luke grow up sometime. It seems to me that he already has to a large degree.”

“Into a fine young man, I know,” Lucinda glared at everything in her office. “I just don’t want him tied down to that greasy-haired, ciao-spouting villain!”

He laughed, putting his arm around her, squeezing gently. “Wow, tell me how you really feel,” he teased.

She kept up the glare so he wouldn’t know she was dancing on the inside at getting him cheered up. “I was genuinely hurt, Marcus, when I found out about that job. Everything Luke is doing there are things we do at WorldWide. Why wouldn’t he want to work with me?”

Marcus drew her closer. “Because he’s doing things his own way. Do you truly believe he’s choosing his biological father over the rest of his family? That doesn’t sound like the Luke I’ve come to know.”

She snorted inelegantly. “Of course I don’t believe that, I’m not Holden. I know that boy loves us more than… But Holden is right about some things. Damian is dangerous. Mixing with him is never a smart thing even if his intentions are good, which they hardly ever are. The one positive thing that man has produced is Luke. If anything were to happen…” She pulled out her handkerchief but kept it in her lap, clutching it close.

“What’s wrong?” he prodded softly. “Really.”

She sighed, looking down at her hands, the skin that seemed to get more wrinkled every day. “I’m getting older, Marcus,” she confessed. “You and I, Emma, Bob Hughes… We’re not going to be around forever. Who’s going to take care of my family then?”

“Dearest-” Marcus tried to get her to look at him, but she kept talking.

“Every checkup I go to, every pill I take morning and night, every test I go through, I am reminded that I could very well leave this earth soon. Leave my children and their children, the people I love. And what I’m most afraid of is that those people won’t have me- anyone- to look out for them. They won’t know how much I need to take care of them.”

He brushed a soft kiss to her temple. “They know you love them.”

She shook her head. “What if I get sick again, darling? What if all this trouble keeps up? I don’t want to die when my boys are so unhappy. I can’t leave my family when some members don’t even realize they are-”

“Lucinda, love,” he spoke insistently. “I can think of no other family on this planet that makes their love known like yours does. Noah and Luke love you, and they know you love them. Do you think half of this drama would be going on if you people didn’t care so much about each other?” He kissed her again, and she wasn’t ashamed to lean into the touch. “Besides,” he continued, “I firmly believe that you will outlive us all.”

“Oh, you,” she lightly slapped the arm that was wrapped around her. “I’m good but I’m not that good. And speaking of Noah, did you even try calling him to see where he was today?”

He shook his head. “There is such a thing as doctor-patient boundaries, dear. I can’t just-”

“Oh for Heaven’s sake, Marcus!” she pulled out her cell phone with a huff. “Must I do everything around here?” she dialed Noah’s number.

“Well, you are the boss,” he murmured, not at all upset.

“I’m glad you can finally admit that. Most men’s egos are-” the line picked up. “Noah, darling, I need to speak with you for a moment.”

“Um, hi, Ms. Walsh.” It wasn’t Noah who answered.

“Well, hello Mr. Hughes,” Lucinda’s tone, which somehow managed to be so gentle when talking to Marcus, immediately went back to the usual powerful Lucinda Walsh manner. Marcus frowned, confused, as she continued. “Could you possibly tell me where that wayward grandson of mine is?”

There was a pause. “I think Luke’s in New York,” Casey said slowly, sounding even more confused than Marcus looked.

She laughed. “And the other one? The tall, blue-eyed one?”

Casey laughed. “Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Um, Noah’s hanging out with me. He was feeling kinda down since Luke left, so I took him on a little road trip. Trying to cheer him up and keep his mind off things. You know, stuff like that.”

“I see,” Lucinda frowned. There was something a little off in Casey’s tone, but she let it go. “And is Noah aware that he missed an appointment today?”

“Yeah, sorry,” Casey still sounded nervous. “He actually just called the Doc’s office to apologize, but the Doc wasn’t there. Noah feels really bad about it, but don’t worry, Ms. Walsh. I’m taking good care of the kid.”

“I’ll bet you are, dear. Give Noah my love, I’m sure I’ll be hearing from one or both of you soon,” she decided to let the poor guy off the hook. As soon as Casey hung up, she turned back to Marcus. “I never thought I’d be glad Casey Hughes is involved.”

He chuckled. “Like I said, you have to let them grow up sometime. Some people do get better with age, you know.”

“Oh,” she glanced back to her desk, to the framed photo there of two young kids in love almost fifty years ago. “That, I do understand.”

************
The sky was fading into night as Noah slipped back into the motel room. “Got some pizza,” he explained needlessly, holding up the two boxes.

“Sweet,” Casey hung up his phone and tossed it away, sitting on the floor in front of his bed. “You wouldn’t happen to also have a plan for tomorrow, would you?”

He blushed, feeling like such an idiot for doing this in the first place. He never should have opened The Folder. “I… I just want to see that house. They don’t even live there anymore, it’s not like anyone will recognize me or anything. I just want to see it, make sure it’s the one that’s been in my head.”

Casey studied him, nodding lightly. “Sounds good to me. We’ll hit up this Franklin Street, get back to the station, and I’ll have you walking into Lily’s Friday Night Dinner with no one the wiser.”

“Yeah.” Noah dropped to the floor in front of his own bed, placing the pizza boxes between them. He eyed the laptop sitting open and facing away on Casey’s bed, but decided not to ask. Maybe he really didn’t want to know what Casey did on the internet. Instead he pulled out his cell again and sat it down next to him within easy reach.

Casey looked at him, half a slice already stuffed in his mouth. “Luke hasn’t called you back yet?”

Noah shook his head. “I left another message. You don’t, um…” he cleared his throat. “You don’t think he’s pissed, do you? And that’s why he hasn’t called back?”

Casey couldn’t answer any faster if he tried. “No. No way. He just hasn’t gotten the messages yet. As soon as he does, he’s going to be hounding you with calls. The second you’re both home he won’t be letting you out of his sight for at least eight months. Don’t worry about that.” He finished off his pizza, reaching for another slice. “And don’t worry about this little trip. Everyone’s allowed to be impulsive and crazy every once in awhile.”

He was pretty sure the blush hadn’t left his face yet. “This is a little past impulsive and crazy, Hughes.”

Casey wouldn’t let up. “Maybe, but it’s not worth getting worked up and freaked out about.” And then that devilish Casey Hughes grin appeared. “Besides, you’re going to be too busy tonight to be freaked out.”

Noah groaned. “Please don’t tell me you’ve got some bar picked out to go to. I’m way too out of it to do anything. Can’t we just stay here, eat the pizza? Maybe watch a movie?”

The grin wasn’t going away. “That’s exactly what we’re going to do. Don’t you remember what day it is?” Off Noah’s confused look, “Thursday is Movie Night, duh! And while I love you, man, I’m not sure I’m quite enough to get you through this right now.” He reached back, pulling the laptop off the bed and onto the floor between them. “So I called in some backup.”

Noah stared open-mouthed at the computer screen. There, through the wonders of Skype, were Jade, Alison, and Hunter. Judging by the looks on the girls’ faces he could tell that Hunter must have just told them what was going on. But the three of them were grinning and waving now. Noah shook himself. “What…?”

Jade shrugged with a smile, the movement a little choppy and delayed from the connection. “Well Boyfriend, we’ve got nothing better to do tonight.”

“And anyway, we’ve all gotten so used to having you critique every movie we watch!” Alison chimed in.

Noah shook his head. “I’m not sure I really have the mental powers to critique a movie right now. Not even sure I could pick out a movie right now.”

“Also not a problem!” Casey jumped in. “Thanks to my awesomeness- and Hunter’s geekery- I’m bringing in even more help.” He clicked on the laptop and another Skype window popped up. Noah’s eyes widened.

“Hellooo August, Georgia!” Maddie called out like a rockstar. “Don’t worry sweetie, I got the DVD all picked out and ready. Just sit back and enjoy.”

Noah turned back to Casey. “How?”

Casey pulled the same DVD out from behind him, and he saw Hunter holding up the same one. “There’s a video store down the block,” Casey explained. “And Maddie knew this was one of your what-do-you-call-it, um…”

“Chicken Soup movies!” Maddie’s voice piped up over the computer speakers.

“Chicken Soup movies,” Casey repeated with a nod. “So tonight we’re all going to relax and watch Blazing Saddles together. Deal with it.”

Noah looked back and forth between Casey and the computer screen, the faces of all his friends looking at him expectantly, and finally smiled timidly. “I guess we better get this started before we keep Hunter out past his bedtime.”

Everyone else laughed as they settled in to watch the movie, linked across three different towns. As the others began chatting during the opening credits, Noah turned back to Casey one more time. “Did you call Luke?”

Casey hesitated before answering. “Yeah. He didn’t pick up, so I left him a message too. I wouldn’t worry, Noah. Like you said, he’s in meetings all day. He’ll call soon, I promise.”

Noah nodded, but in his head he was telling himself he shouldn’t have run off like this. It was his insistence that got Luke to go to New York, and it was his messed-up head that put him on a train to Augusta. It was-

“Noah, tell us why we’re watching this movie?” Jade’s voice cut into his thoughts.

“It’s a classic!” Maddie argued.

“So? Some people think Showgirls is a classic,” Jade fired back.

Casey sat up straighter. “Does that mean we can watch Showgirls next week?”

“No!” four voices yelled out immediately. Noah just laughed. That feeling- that feeling in the pit of his stomach that had taken hold since those dreams started- was receding a little bit, replaced by something better. Something like family.

************
Yet another buzz of Luke’s cell phone alerted Damian as he finished up his last meeting of the day. Forcing back the beginnings of a headache, he checked the screen. It wasn’t Noah for once, but the fact that it was Casey Hughes meant pretty much the same thing.

The young man had appointed himself as Noah’s guard dog right around the time Damian arrived in Oakdale, and Damian also never quite approved of his antics and the way he seemed to bring out the thirteen-year-old in Luke. Luke wanted to be more of an adult, isn’t that what he said?

Damian flipped through the phone and deleted Casey’s missed call, just as he had with the two missed calls from Noah. He felt a little guilty for doing it, knowing that Noah was going through something rough right now, but he had to. Luke couldn’t magically fix whatever problems Noah was having, and it shouldn’t be his job to. He had already chosen a job.

He had just gotten through deleting the alert for the voicemail when Luke entered the conference room, hands full of folders and contracts. “Hey, Damian.”

He quickly dropped the phone into his open briefcase, out of sight. “Hello son. How did the meeting go with Karl?”

Luke grinned triumphantly. “Better than good. You were right about that whole confidence thing. I got them to agree to a couple more stipulations in the deal. As soon as we get these contracts finalized, Grimaldi Shipping is going to save tons on transaction fees and interest.”

Damian felt himself mirroring the smile. “That’s fantastic news! I’m very proud of you, son. I knew you could do this, you just needed the chance.” He moved around the table to stand next to him, squeezing his shoulder happily. “You just needed to get away from distraction for a bit, to-” and then Damian stopped himself from saying something stupid.

Luke looked confused, eyes trying to search Damian’s for answers. “Distraction? What were you going to say?”

Damian shook his head. There’s no way he’d reveal he was going to say that Luke just needed to get away from Oakdale, Holden, and Noah for a bit. He wasn’t that foolish. “You just needed to prove to yourself that you could do it,” he covered diplomatically. “You have one more meeting today, yes?”

Luke never noticed the slip. “Yeah, one more quick one, then I’m done for the night…” as he spoke he absentmindedly patted down his pockets. Now frowning, he rooted through his satchel.

“What’s wrong?” Damian wondered if he had lost some paperwork or-

“My cell phone. I can’t find…” he shook his head. “Did I leave it in the meeting? I can’t remember the last time I even had it! If Noah calls me…”

Damian kept his face and voice neutral. “I’m sure it’ll turn up. In fact, if you head on to your meeting, I’ll swing back by your last room, see if you left it there.”

Luke shot him a grateful look, one that almost had Damian feeling guilty again. “Thanks, Damian, that would be great. If there are any missed calls from Noah, can you bring it to me?

“Absolutely, I’ll check. And either way, I’ll see you back at the hotel tonight.” Damian kept up his smile until Luke was out of the room. Letting out a little bit of a sigh, he closed his briefcase with a decisive snap. This was for Luke’s own good, right? Yes, it had to be. He repeated the phrase that got him through many decisions in his life- The ends justify the means…

************
Whatever dream it was that pulled Noah out of sleep, he couldn’t remember. But it was enough to keep him from laying back down. A quick check of his phone told him two things- it was just after six am, and Luke still hadn’t called. Damn it.

He was trying to keep from freaking out, he really was. It was just that… there’s no way Luke could still be in meetings now, could he? Though maybe they had run late and he’d gone straight to sleep. Maybe he’d call back first thing in the morning.

But when exactly was ‘first thing in the morning,’ anyway?

He was still shaking a bit from the dream, and maybe that was it. Maybe because the weak and shaky feeling he’d been fighting off since Luke went to New York had come back with a vengeance, maybe that was why he was looking over at The Folder again where it lay next to his duffel bag. There was no reason to open it again, Noah knew everything that was inside it now.

The Miller family. Father Eric, mother Autumn. He was a college professor and high school football coach. She was a painter. Son Justin, daughter Krista. Justin was now thirty-one years old, Krista was twenty-nine. Noah almost could’ve laughed. His old parents were a psycho and a whore, his new parents were…

No. No no no no no no no no. Noah sucked in a breath so harshly he was surprised that it didn’t wake Casey up. No. These people were not his parents. They weren’t his family. This wasn’t possible. This wasn’t real. He shoved any more of those thoughts to the very far back of his brain, because the walls were starting to close in on him.

He just needed some air, that was it. That was all he needed. He quietly slipped out of his bed, pulling some clean clothes on. He checked on Casey, still passed out on his own bed, and decided to be smart for once and leave a note.

Getting coffee, back in a bit. It’s six am, so I’ll be back with coffee, throw away the note, drink both cups, take a shower, and watch another movie before you wake up. -Noah

He got out of the motel room with the small smirk still on his face. Zipping up his red hoodie, he headed down the block to the coffee shop he’d noticed the night before. He doubted it could be anywhere as good as his Java brew, but at this point caffeine was more necessary than taste.

Thank God the place at least shared Java’s hours. 6:30am and the place was already busy. It probably took fifteen minutes for him to get his order and grab a seat near the door. Another three (okay, five) checks of his cell phone, but Luke still hadn’t called. Maybe he really was mad? Maybe he was teaching Noah a lesson?

Great, now Noah’s brain was doing its impression of his father. Damn it. The Colonel. His father? The Colonel? What the hell?

And then the walls were closing in again, and what the hell was he thinking ordering coffee when the air around him was so hot? Noah stumbled to his feet, took a moment to calm himself and not accidentally cause a scene, and headed for the door. He was just congratulating himself on a job well done there when he accidentally bumped into someone coming in just as he tried to open the door.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” the woman he had almost run into smiled, looked up at him apologetically.

Looked up at him with bright blue eyes.

No. Way. Was there anyway for the Universe to not screw with him? Because the two people in front of him were the two people he probably didn’t ever want to meet. Ever. Eric and Autumn Miller. There’s no way this was a coincidence. He really must have pissed somebody off in his previous life.

“You alright, honey?” she asked, eyeing him both concerned and maybe a little wary.

Well. So much for not causing a scene.

TO BE CONTINUED! Coming Up: things finally sink in for Noah, Jack does another interrogation, Casey is told to make a choice, Luke's investigation leads him to the truth...