NaNo Fic: Find Your Way Through Me (ATWT, Luke/Noah, AU) - Chapter Eleven

[freakykat]

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Title: Find Your Way Through Me
Author: freakykat
Rating: NC-17
Chapter: Chapter Eleven
Pairing: Luke/Noah
Summary: Where there is darkness, find your way through me.
Disclaimer: Sadly I don’t own any of the boys I like to play with. All rights for the characters go to P&G, ATWT, JP, CG, etc.
Beta: The phenomenal and wonderful noelleleithe who took this monster on! I love you!
W/C: 3063
Warnings: MAJOR ANGST, some character death (NOT THE BOYS!), violence (It does have a happy ending, I swear!)
Author’s Note: Hey look! It's back!!! LOL. Sorry for the HUGE delay. See first chapter for additional notes!
Story Notes: Found in Chapter One.



All chapters found here.






Chapter Eleven


This wasn’t happening. Not to them.

“Luke. Breathe , please.”

Holden’s hand rubbed across his shoulders but Luke’s grip on the table didn’t lessen. He kept his stare pointed toward the door, waiting.

Noah was missing.

That thought had circled his mind relentlessly since Margo had called him down to tell him. They’d found their killer. Someone none of them would have suspected and he had Noah. He had Noah and Liberty. Luke closed his eyes, blocking out the images that swam across his mind. The hours were stretching behind them and never ending.

Justin.

He couldn’t wrap his mind around that. The man he’d had in his home for dinner. The one that was supposed to keep his love safe…

Too much time had passed.

Luke knew what that could mean.

The door opened and Margo met his stare. He could see the tension in her shoulders, on her face and he stood up.

“I can find them.”

Margo shook her head. “You’re too close to the situation, Luke.”

“I don’t give a fuck about protocol. I need to find Noah.”

He needed Noah. He couldn’t think without him.

“Luke.”

Holden’s voice was calm, steady just like the hand that held his arm. He understood their concern and he knew the risks. Emotional involvement with what he did cost too much. Tended to overwhelm Luke and make it harder to recover sometimes.

But it was Noah. It was his Noah. He had to do whatever was necessary.

“I can do it here or I can go somewhere else. Alone.”

Margo assessed him, taking a long moment before turning towards the door, leaving it ajar as she stepped into the other room. Luke watched her argue with Jack, snatching one of the evidence bags and re-entering the room. Jack stood behind her, scowling at them both.

“We don’t know anything about your abilities, Luke. This could be a bad idea.”

He didn’t care. Luke extended his hand and Margo handed him the bag. He sat at the table. He closed his eyes, clearing his mind and taking a deep breath, he reached for the ripped and bloodied sweater they had found. His fingers trembled and he felt that rush of cold over his skin. His chest tightened and his breathing came in spurts.

The first images were always the hardest. They assaulted his mind, a flood of emotions that he couldn’t control burst inside.

“Luke…what do you see?”

He was cold…and scared. Everything ached. His hands numbed, no feeling left. The heaviness of sleep weighed him down. He couldn’t see well. It was dark. Wherever they were it was dark. Everything was fuzzy except he could…

“Noah.”

“Do you see him?”

“Yes. I can see him. He looks…there’s blood! There’s blood everywhere on him!” It hurt to be there but he couldn’t force his mind anywhere else. He wanted to reach Noah. All he could make out was his slumped figure.

“Can you hear anything?”

Luke shook his head, blocking out all the questions being hurled in his direction. He concentrated, letting his mind seep into someone else. He floated in and out, the images twisted, muddy. He could feel Liberty’s presence with him. Her sightline was focused on Noah.

He breathed with her when Noah stirred. He was the sharpest image in the room and when blue eyes stared back, he tried to move.

But he couldn’t.

This wasn’t his body. He wasn’t really here.

“Luke, tell us what’s going on.”

“I don’t know…she’s scared. There’s someone with them. He’s in the room. She…can’t breathe.”

Another figure blocked his view and he could plainly see…

“Justin.”

Somewhere inside he cried out

He could feel Liberty’s overwhelming fear and then he felt sharp pains in his chest. Something stabbed repeatedly and Luke choked on the words he wanted to say. She was looking around for help, at Noah….Noah who was screaming things Luke couldn’t hear.

There were voices calling him. Someone shaking him hard but Luke refused to leave. He pushed into Liberty’s mind, felt her weakening consciousness there. He tried to comfort and he felt her winding around him, grasping.

“Basement…it’s dark, windows small, above…been here before…”

Noah sat slumped forward in a chair, struggling…he tried to reach for him but it wasn’t him. He wasn’t in control. He could smell salt…she had seen water…

“It’s by the water…big house…”

The pain was so sudden that Luke lurched forward and then it was gone completely. There was a darkness closing in around him, making it impossible to breathe. He knew what that was. Noah’s screams were muffled and fading. He tried to break free but it was swallowing him whole.

He couldn’t fight it and when it took all of him, the relief made him want to cry out.

And then there was nothing.


*

Luke lay back on the soft couch, staring at the framed picture of Carly and Neil on the coffee table. It was a candid of them on vacation, laughing and looking at each other. He even remembered when it was taken. For their honeymoon they had taken all of the kids to Hawaii with them. That had included Noah. Which had meant Luke went along as well.

He couldn’t believe it had been so long ago, more than two years now. He remembered the feel of the sun on his face, smell of the salty air, Noah’s hands roaming his skin under the blanket they’d thrown over themselves to hide from the sand and the peering eyes of Noah‘s siblings. Luke joked that now they could chose one of the other destinations they’d discussed for their own honeymoon. Noah had smiled - that sweet, full smile he reserved for him and kissed him senseless.

Luke’s heart ached at the memory.

He couldn’t think about that now. He needed to concentrate. Closing his eyes, he forced his mind clear of everything. Blank slate. He needed to see if he could manage control over his mind before he tried this. The episode at the police station earlier had been a mistake. He hadn’t been prepared for the onslaught of images. They had overwhelmed him so much he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t sort one from the other.

He breathed in deep, pushing his racing thoughts down, locking them away. He rubbed fingers over the material in his hands.

Images – fuzzy scenes flittered across his mind like a montage on a screen. Henry and Nikolas, Vienna in the mirror, crying and laughing. Luke struggled to find anything of value. He couldn’t do this alone. He needed someone there.

He needed Noah.

Sharp flash of street, images flipped upside down…his wrists felt as if they were tied and he moved them to make sure he was still in Carly’s living room. He closed his eyes tighter, shivering with cold. He curled into himself, forcing control, grasping at it. He remembered the exercises Dr. Simmons had taught him. Compartmentalize. He kept Vienna in the foreground and searched for his grounding image. He knew what it was and when Noah’s face popped up, Luke held on to it. He relaxed enough to let the fear and sadness wash over him.

It was hard to touch. He’d never experienced it quite this way. The connection had always been quick. The flashes and then he was there.

But this…

Luke’s brow furrowed with the realization that everything he was sensing was - stale - old. The colors faded, like memories that had passed and dimmed. Nothing new. Nothing with the sting of pain to it. He couldn’t sense Vienna anywhere. Just the left behind emotions of something…

He opened his eyes, blinking away the wetness and sitting up slowly.

Gone.

There wasn’t anything he could do.

*

Harrison stood behind his boss, watching quietly as Noah approached the covered body, and he steeled himself against whatever he was about to see.

When the call from the frantic jogger had come in, Harrison had been the first one to arrive on the scene. He had calmed the woman down enough to get precise directions, and calling in to report it, he’d made his way to the crime scene.

The moment he’d seen the pale, beautiful face half covered with mud and leaves, ice forming in the black hair, he’d known that everything in Oakdale was about to change.

Vienna Coleman had been one of the sweetest women he’d ever met. She was an adoring mother and an adored wife. Her warmth had touched everyone.

Her friendship had been important. Her support something he hadn’t expected.

Her murder was cruel and evil.

Maybe being a cop shouldn’t have made it possible for him to be shocked by anything. He knew evil existed in all forms but when he was faced with something like this… he realized he would never see the depth of it.

Noah pulled the sheet forward, his breath hitching when he saw her unmarred face and Harrison swallowed back the need to comfort him. The look Noah threw over his shoulder was nothing less than heartbreak.

“What do we know?”

Time to get down to the business of finding a killer.

“Not much yet. It doesn’t look like she struggled. No broken nails or undue marks on her arms or legs. Twenty wounds to the chest and abdomen. One across her carotid. Most were inflicted after death. It looks like the body has only been exposed overnight. She wasn’t killed here. No blood in the vicinity. Dr. Jackson is on her way. We should know more in a couple of hours.”

Noah bent his head, his eyes straying to Vienna, his hand hovering over her face. He wanted to touch, make some final contact with her. Harrison could understand. Noah’s hand reached down, though, pulling the sheet further down so he could study the multiple stab wounds.

Something worked itself out in Noah’s head and Harrison took a step forward.

“What is it, sir?”

“This wasn’t a crime of passion. It was planned. The force behind the stabbings lack any loss of control. They’re methodical. Almost a pattern. Like he didn’t want to make too much of a mess. Didn’t want her to - he cared that she didn’t hurt.”

Harrison blinked at that, studying Noah’s face. “He killed her.”

Noah covered Vienna - the body, he reminded himself - back up with the sheet and stood, running one hand through damp hair. “Yes he did.” He glanced back down at the covered body before meeting Harrison’s eyes.

“He killed her with what he sees as compassion. He cut her carotid artery to make it quick. She died within seconds. Then, he stabbed her corpse to make his point. Whatever it was.”

Harrison tried not to let the nausea overtake him because if what Noah was saying was true then…

“Then that means - he knew her, sir.”

Noah nodded, staring off into woods and breathing in deep.

“He knew her.”


*

Jade glanced up, stopping in the midst of giving instructions at the pale color to Luke’s skin. She finished her sentence and waved away the officer she’d been talking to, heading toward her cousin. She held his arms when he looked at her and shook his head.

She had just arrived and heard of a body found in the woods. There had been no confirmation from anyone at the site yet but looking at Luke she knew.

Her eyes welled with tears and she choked when she asked, “She’s dead?”

Luke blinked back his own tears, swallowing as he spoke, “Yes.”

He pulled her into a hug, so tight she could barely breathe. Jade didn’t mind. There were times when not breathing, when not knowing were good. Her eyes fell to the sight of Henry sitting at the table in the conference room, his eyes round as he stared back at her.

She stepped back, turning away and whispering a soft, “Henry can see us.” She felt more than saw Luke nod, watched him jerk his head back fast, clearing his eyes of his sadness before he met her gaze.

“I called Katie on my way here.”

Jade sighed, “Luke…”

Carly walked through the station doors and Jade glanced at Luke. “Carly, too?”

Luke shook his head. “No, Carly was with me - or - I was at Carly’s house when I, “ he broke off, turning around to address Carly, “he doesn’t know yet.”

Her face fell and she wiped her hands on her jeans. “I didn’t think he did.” She couldn’t look at Henry. Not at that moment. She focused on Jade’s strained face, automatically putting a hand on the girl’s shoulders. “Do you know when they will?”

Jade shook her head. “We haven’t even gotten the official word yet.”

The precinct door swung open and they turned to see Noah walk through, halting at seeing them standing in a group. He frowned at Carly before his gaze fell on Luke and his face cleared of confusion. He looked at Jade, nodding his head and she closed her eyes.

It was Vienna.

She’d known that the moment Luke had said it but…

Noah watched the pain and anger war on Jade’s face, understood it, felt it. Harrison stood at his side and he knew that same expression would be mirrored on his face. They were supposed to protect people like Vienna - sweet, wonderful mothers like Vienna from the monsters in the world.

They had failed.

Harrison moved to Jade’s side, speaking to her quietly.

Noah moved to his Carly’s side, feeling Henry’s eyes on him the entire time and he bent to give her a kiss on the cheek. “He’s going to need you.” He felt her hand on his back, rubbing soothingly and it started to free all the emotions he’d bottled up. He stepped away from her and glanced at Luke.

“I’m right here.”

Noah felt the words in his gut, nodding when the words wouldn’t come, and he brushed Luke’s fingers as he passed, holding for just one long moment. He paused at the door, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before entering.

Carly stood next to Luke, looping their arms together, watching Noah as he sat gently at Henry’s side. Luke couldn’t breathe when Henry’s face crumbled. He stood from his chair, yelling at Noah who calmly let him. Henry moved toward him, shaking Noah in an effort to make him say it was a lie. When it was clear to Henry that Noah wasn’t going to take it all back, he stopped moving.

Noah’s arms went around their friend, holding him for a long moment before moving him back to sit. Henry’s face was blank, eyes rimmed with tears he wasn’t even aware he was crying. Noah ran one hand over Henry’s head before he left the room.

Luke made himself stay next to Carly. He wanted to put his own arms around Noah. Wanted to kiss away the pain. Touch him until he forgot it like he once would. But Carly’s hold tightened and he stayed.

Noah closed the door softly and glanced over at them.

There was nothing any of them could do. Nothing they could say to change any of it.

Noah nodded at Carly and she let Luke go, touching a hand to his hair, kissing his face gently. She moved past him and Noah, entering the room slowly. Luke stared for only a moment as she sat next to Henry and then looked away when Henry suddenly wrapped her in a hug.

His eyes met Noah’s and they stared across the room at each other. His hands itched to run through Noah’s hair, to curl at the end of his neck and murmur comfort into his skin.

There was a flurry of activity suddenly, Katie’s voice asking for explanation, Jade’s reply and her tears. He felt Katie pass him by, caught a flash of her enter the room with Carly and Henry. His eyes never strayed from Noah’s.

“Detective Mayer?”

Noah blinked and glanced behind Luke.

“Yes?”

“The Chief needs to speak with you.”

Luke closed his eyes, opening them to the sight of Katie and Carly comforting each other and Henry. Brad standing behind all three, enveloping them in a hug.

Wonders never ceased.

When he looked back at Noah, he was at his desk, talking into the phone. Luke could see the muscles tense in his shoulders and neck. Wanted to press himself against Noah’s back and just feel him. He moved before he could think about it. When Noah dropped the phone into its cradle, Luke slowly brought his hand under Noah’s arms, meeting at his chest and pulled him back, holding firmly.

Noah’s breath stuttered just a little.

Luke waited and hoped.

When Noah turned into his embrace, his heart jumped into his throat and he brought his arms around, closing his eyes as he gently caressed across Noah’s back. Tears gathered in his eyes again when Noah hid his face in Luke’s neck, breath raspy and wet. He shivered at the contact, that indescribable connection with Noah flaring in his blood. Noah’s fingers dug into the back of Luke’s shirt, clutching for a long second. His lips found Luke’s jaw, kissing softly twice and Luke shifted his head, their cheeks leaning against one another.

He couldn’t let go even if he wanted to. Noah was open and Luke could feel him in every part.

The phone on Noah’s desk rang and Luke cursed the fucking thing to hell. Noah’s head pulled back for one second before coming to down to touch with Luke’s. He clenched his hands on Luke’s waist.

“I need to get that.”

“I know.”

They stepped apart, making brief eye contact and Luke couldn’t help it. He leaned in to kiss Noah’s lips, lingering just a fraction. He felt Noah press back and sighed against the contact.

He didn’t look back up, knowing if he did he wouldn’t be able to walk away. He felt Noah’s gaze on him all the way out the door.



-Chapter Twelve-



#

Comments

[alexxgalaxy.livejournal.com]

Vienna...oh god! It's so so horrible.

[freakykat.livejournal.com]

I knoooow. I'm sorry.

*hugs*

Thank you for reading.