"alright." Smokey says. the three settle down, ready to fall asleep, except Lightning can't sit still. he's squirmy and too full of pent up energy to settle down. Doc lets him squirm for a bit before sighing.

"kid, lay down and stop squirming." Doc mutters. Lightning pouts and rolls off him, nuzzling against his side. Doc lets him, whatever he needs to be comfortable.

"can't help it." he mutters back. "I'm squirmy tonight." Lightning adds. Doc pulls him closer, rubbing his hand up the youngers side gently. Lightning holds Docs waist tightly.

"yeah I noticed." Doc mutters.

"m'sorry." Lightning mumbles. its quiet a few minutes, before Doc looks down at him.

"don't you do it." Doc warns.

"do what?" Smokey ask, looking over.

"don't." Doc warns when Lightning looks up at him, pouting. "I see the wheels turning in your head don't you dare." Doc says. Lightning grins a little and cuddles up to his side, dropping his head on Docs shoulder. Doc huffs a little and turns back to the tv. he feels Lightning shift and frowns. "kid if you bite me, I'm going to bite you back and you're not going to like it." Doc frowns.

"what you guys do in bed should not be done while I'm laying over here." Smokey comments.

"who are you to tell me what I like?" Lightning scoffs. Smokey snorts, staring at the tv. "maybe I like that." Lightning mutters.

"I'm going to bite the fuck out of you and you're not gonna like it." Doc warns.

"should I like, go for a walk or something?" Smokey snorts.

"cool it." Doc mutters, looking over at Smokey. Smokey snorts a little and looks back at the tv. "ow! you little fuck!" Doc glares. Lightning grins at him.

"its not a bite its a nibble and it doesn't hurt." Lightning huffs. Doc glares at him.

"I will bite the hell out of you." he frowns. Lightning grins at him a little, and cuddles up to his side, sighing happily. "thats what I thought. pretend to be all innocent." Doc mutters, playing with the younger hair gently. fortunately, Doc understands that his young lover has a lot of energy pent up, he's not just doing this to be a pain. his lover is often like an energetic puppy, which is unfortunate since they already have a dog. Doc frowns a little. "what happened to Bolt?" Doc ask, looking over his fiancé gently.

"he's curled up over here, doing a very good impression of a personal heater." Smokey mutters.

"he's really good at that." Lightning says.

"I'll say, my ass is sweating cause he's curled against it." Smokey mutters, reaching back to pat the pups head. Bolt barks happily, tail wagging.

"but he's a good boy." Lightning mumbles, curling closer to Doc. Doc smiles at him, rubs his side gently. the youngers getting tired. he'll probably fall asleep soon, even if he has too much energy, he's tired. Doc smiles at him a little, playing with his hair gently. if he's careful, the younger man will fall asleep, getting some much needed rest. Lightning buries his face in Docs side with a quiet yawn. Docs careful not to jar him awake, he really needs the sleep, they both do. Doc waits for him to fall asleep, before letting himself fall asleep.

the hotel room alarm must've been set by Smokey, because at 6AM sharp it goes off. the whole room jerks awake, even Bolt.

"shit." Smokey mutters, reaching over to shut it off. Doc blinks confused and looks over at Smokey, then back to Lightning. the younger man looks utterly confused, lifting his head from Docs chest to rub his eyes.

"s'going on?" he mumbles.

"shh baby, go back to sleep." Doc murmurs, pulling him back down gently. Lightning mumbles a little but puts his head back on Docs chest and holds him gently. "what the hell Smokey?" Doc mutters.

"I had to get up early to leave for Thomasville. sorry." he mutters, getting up. Lightning yawns quietly.

"c'mere Bolt." Lightning mumbles. Bolt stretches and gets up off the couch, heading for the bed. he jumps up and curls up behind Lightning, tail wagging happily. "good boy." Lightning murmurs, reaching back to pat his head gently. Doc runs his fingers through Lightnings hair gently, kissing his head.

"be careful Smokey. call me when you get there." Doc mutters.

"of course Hud. see you guys in a few days." Smokey says, grabbing his bag and leaving the room. Lightning cuddles closer and mumbles, falling back to sleep. Doc pulls the blanket up over them gently and kisses his head. he probably won't get back to sleep, which sucks, but is okay. at least he can get a few extra hours in of watching his favorite man. he runs his hand gently down the youngers back. this sweet man would be all his in a few months, forever hopefully. they'd settled on a date, his lover wanted a winter wedding, so Doc had promised a December wedding, right before his birthday, before Christmas. they hadn't set a date in stone, but it's only October, they have time. he knows the youngers not so sure about anything happening but that everything would be okay, everything would work itself out, eventually. everything was gonna be fine.

*4 weeks later*

it had taken Doc a little longer than he or Smokey had thought, for him to get better enough to drive them to Thomasville. Lightning had changed his mind, telling Doc that they could fly if he wanted, but Doc insisted on driving and taking their time. they'd stop when he started hurting and get a hotel room. it only took them 4 days to get there, despite the trip only being a little over a day, but they were finally in Thomasville. they were finally there and Lightning was nervous. he was so nervous and scared, they spent an entire day at the hotel with Doc trying to calm him down. he'd even called Louise, Maddie, and River to try and help. the younger man was absolutely terrified of simply just being Thomasville, but the thought of facing his father had him in tears. had him in a panic attack so back the Bolt growled and even snapped at Docs hands when he tried to touch Lightning.

"kid come on. you've had a full day here to relax and calm down. we've got a limited window here to get that information you wanted." Doc says softly.

"I can't do it! you can't make me!" Lightning shouts, curling up more under the hotel bed. he's got his back against the wall, facing Doc and his friends, curled up as far back as he can. "just leave me alone. please Doc I can't." he whimpers.

"look he can't even touch you kid. just come on out. Monty baby. you only have to get one answer from him, then we're leaving." Doc assures.

"I can't do it." Lightning mumbles.

"alright kid, last chance. either you come out here willingly, or I'm calling Smokey and he's dragging your ass out." River warns.

"Bolt will bite him." Lightning says firmly.

"Bolts been muzzled." Doc says. "you have five seconds. either come out on your own or Smokey's dragging you out." Doc says.

"no. I know exactly whats going to happen. I'm going to confront him and he's just going to do the same thing he always does and I won't let him hit me again." Lightning says firmly, though his voice wavers a little.

"you know I won't ever let him hurt you. now come on out." Doc murmurs. "come on kid, you're hurting my shoulder." Doc says. Lightning sighs a little and crawls out hesitantly. Doc nods and slowly gets up. he grabs hold of Lightnings hand tightly so the younger won't try to escape. "okay. come on." Doc murmurs. Lightning cuddles to his side nervously. Louise and Maddie hold onto Bolt so he won't escape.

"I don't feel good Doc, do we really have to do this?" Lightning asks nervously, looking up at the older man.

"do you want to know what happened to Emily?" Doc ask. "if she's dead somewhere doesn't she deserve to be properly buried? if she's alive out there somewhere, don't you want to know so you can find her?" Doc ask, looking at him.

"yeah, but-" Lightning tries.

"no buts kid. I'll be there. Smokey'll be there. River, Junior, a whole bunch of bigger guys this is going to be okay." Doc assures gently. Lightning whines a little. "you're going to be fine. he's not even going to be able to get up kid. promise. he'll be basically strapped to a chair. you're gonna be okay." Doc assures.

"I can't face him..." Lightning says.

"you have to, for Emily." Doc murmurs. Lightning sighs. "if she's alive don't you want to find her and invite her to the wedding?" Doc ask.

"yeah, but I know she's not alive Doc." Lightning sighs. "I know she's dead. I just want to know where her body is." Lightning adds.

"you know she's dead?" Doc ask, looking over at him.

"of course she's dead. she has to be. you've met my dad. he probably raped her and killed her and stuffed her body somewhere. I just want to know where he put her." Lightning mutters, hugging his knees. Doc frowns a little at him.

"how old was she last time you saw her?" Doc ask softly.

"I was probably six... so she was eight or nine. not anywhere near old enough to just disappear like that on her own." Lightning mutters. "her mom, my step mom, Mikaela went missing after dad caught her in Emily's room, course I wasn't old enough then to really understand what happened then. a month later, Emily went missing when a couple people from the state came to visit. a couple CPS workers and things. they took us for like two days then put us back, despite us both begging not to go back. it was like midnight of our second day back and I woke up in the middle of the night because Emily was screaming. I went to check on her and he'd already locked me in my room. never saw her again." Lightning mutters, looking out the window so Doc doesn't see him cry. he wipes at his face and huffs a little. "he spent weeks 'convincing' me that they never actually existed, of course by that I mean, any time I ask about them he'd beat me until I stopped asking." Lightning mutters. "I just wanna put her to rest, y'know? I really just want her and her mom, if she's actually dead too, in a real grave instead of where ever they are. they deserve better, so much better. they were the only people who actually cared after he killed my mom. they... they were my family." Lightning says softly. Doc frowns a little.

"okay kid. we're gonna go out here, we're gonna see your dad, and you're going to ask him where they are, okay?" Doc asks. "and if he doesn't tell you, I'm gonna ask and I won't be nice about it." Doc says firmly. he wishes his arm wasn't in a sling so he could hold the youngers hand gently. "we're gonna find'em kid. we're gonna find'em and get them put to rest properly. okay?" Doc ask. Lightning nods at him.

"okay. thanks... m'sorry I'm being such a chicken shit about this.." Lightning sighs.

"you're not being chicken kid, you're scared because he abused you. baby, there's nothing wrong with being scared. I'm sorry we got so nasty with you, but we want this done while its dark outside, we don't want to risk doing this in the daylight." Doc mutters.

"after this can we finally go home?" Lightning ask.

"yeah, if you want to or we could go somewhere else." Doc murmurs.

"I could get us a fancy hotel room by the beach for a while and we can just go out there to relax for a bit, get ourselves together or something?" Lightning ask. Doc smiles a little.

"yeah, that sounds nice. just us for a few days. we can do that." Doc murmurs. Lightning smiles a little, until they pull up to Cotters Pin.

"I'm scared." Lightning mutters.

"I know kiddo." Doc murmurs softly.

"what if he makes me cry out there?" Lightning ask, looking embarrassed.

"it'll be fine kid. everyone out here understands." Doc assures gently. "just relax. everything will be alright." Doc adds. Lightning nods and together they get out of the Hornet. "but before we leave, we're racing that old track in the Hornet." Doc says. Lightning smiles a little.

"okay." Lightning mumbles. Doc walks over and takes the youngers hand with his good hand.

"you got this baby. you faced Chick and you can face Elliot." Doc assures gently. "you got this Monty. don't let him get in your head." Doc says, leading him out back. Lightning swallows hard and lets Doc lead him out back. Smokey, River, Junior, and about 6 other guys Lightnings never met are standing around his father tied to a chair. their all holding different objects, things Lightning remembers telling Doc his father had beat him with at one point or other.

"nice of you two to finally join us." Smokey teases.

"traffic was terrible." Doc snorts, letting go of Lightnings hand.

"okay kid, Hud says you want some information." one of the men Lightning doesn't know says. Lightning looks at Doc.

"Rusty, guy who owns the hotel." Doc explains. Lightning nods slightly.

"uh yeah..." Lightning mutters, looking around. he's confused as to why they've gone to all this trouble, just for him.

"I ain't saying shit." Elliot growls.

"I just wanna know where you put her." Lightning says, walking over to him. "where is she?" Lightning ask.

"fuck off you little fag. when I get free I'm gonna break your neck." Elliot snaps. Lightning takes a half step back, heart pounding a little, before he leans down to his dads face. Docs got his back, he can do this. Doc will keep him safe.

"you're not getting free." Lightning warns. Elliot brings his head back before slamming it hard into Lightnings face, knocking the younger man back hard. he lands on his back, head bouncing off the dirt, with a cry of pain. there's blood pouring from his nose and down his face.

"Monty." Doc frowns, walking over. Smokey pulls Lightning up to his feet carefully, looking him over. his nose is going to be purple but he can't tell if its broken or not.

"kid you good?" Smokey ask. Lightning shakes the stars from his vision. one of the guys behind Elliot hits him hard in the back of the head with the buckel of the belt in his hands.

"fuck you!" Elliot growls turning to look behind him.

"yeah, I'm okay." Lightning mutters, but he doesn't sound okay. he's getting flash backs from his childhood. Doc grabs his arm and pulls him back, gently looking over his nose. "m'fine Doc." Lightning grumbles at him quietly.

"you little fucking shit! you're a fucking pussy! I should've killed you instead of her!" Elliot snaps. "just as useless as your fucking whore of a mother." Elliot growls. somethings snaps in Lightning, he turns to face his father. how dare this awful man talk about his amazing mother like that. he's silent a moment, before letting out an enraged scream. he rips the bat from Juniors hands, Junior stepping back in surprise, and swings it hard at his father. the sound it makes when it makes contact with his fathers head is one he'll never forget. Junior looks over at Doc, jaw dropped. Doc looks as shocked and surprised as everyone else. he certainly hadn't expected his young lover to actually strike the man. Elliot must've hit pretty deep with those comments, because Lightning looks ready to murder him.

"TELL ME WHERE EMILY IS YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Lightning shouts, getting in his face. "tell me where Emily is or I'll beat you to death my fucking self! you leave my mom out of this! where is she!?" Lightning shouts, pulling the bat back ready to hit him again. Smokey grins a little look at Doc smugly.

"told you." he mutters quietly. Doc huffs out his nose at him, silencing him with a glare. he doesn't want Smokey to break Lightning out of whatever state he's in before the younger gets the answers he wants.

"where's my sister? where the fuck is she!?" Lightning snaps, getting in his face again. Elliot looks a little dazed, blinking up at Lightning a moment. he scowls after a moment.

"get out of my face Montgomery, or I'll going to kill you." Elliot glares.

"my name is Monty, not Montgomery and how? exactly do you fucking plan to do that? hmm?" Lightning glares. "from where I'm standing, the only way you get out of this is to tell me where my sister is." Lightning snaps. he doesn't hesitate to hit his father with the bat again. "tell me where she is and this will all go away. they'll let you go, you'll never see me again. where. is. Emily? what did you do to her!?" Lightning glares. Elliot spits blood at him.

"I ain't talking." Elliot glares. "I'm your father! get me the hell out of here now! I'm gonna kill you!" Elliot growls.

"some fucking father you are. what? you beat little boys and rape little girls? yeah! I bet! you're not a fucking father, you're not even a fucking man! what kind of man does that shit!?" Lightning shouts. "now tell me where the fuck she is or I'm going to beat your god damn brain in!" Lightning screams, pulling the bat back in the ready position. Elliot growls lowly.

"you don't have the balls you little faggot." Elliot spits. Lightning screams at him and hits him in the gut with the bat.

"is that how you wanna play? you've always been bigger and stronger than me, but these guys, are stronger. they're going to kill you." Lightning snaps, motioning to the men standing around them. he's trembling with rage. he pulls the bat back once more. "tell me where she is or I'm gonna kill you." Lightning mutters, angrily. he wants to hit his father again, he wants to show him what it felt like to be helpless, but he holds back for a moment.

"fuck off you little fag." Elliot snaps. Lightning doesn't hold back. there's a loud crack of something in the man breaking when Lightning hits him with the bat for the fourth time. Elliots head drops forward a little and he blinks.

"where is she? last chance. tell me where she is." Lightning says. Elliot snorts at him, his face is bleeding pretty bad, but he's determined not to give in. he can't give in to his disgusting disgrace of a son.

"I ain't telling you nothing. you're disgusting! you're a fucking fag! you deserved everything you got as a kid and then some. you're a pussy Montgomery. you're not gonna kill me. I'm your father now let me go you fucking fag." Elliot snarls. Lightning lets out a sigh.

"okay..." Lightning says shakily. he's trying to hold in the anger. "last chance Elliot. you can tell me and they'll let you go or you get tell them while pleading for your life, either way, I don't care. I don't care if you fucking die right here, neither do they. I just want Emily. just tell me where she is already." Lightning says. its silent a few moments and Lightning sighs a little. "okay." he shrugs, holding the bat back out to Junior. he turns to Doc and walks over to him.

"she's at the old house. in Maryville Ohio. under the front porch, alone with her mother." Elliot mutters.

"Mikaela..." Lightning mumbles quietly, turning to face Elliot. "if you're lying-" Lightning starts, walking back over and snatching the bat back from Junior.

"m'not. now tell them to let go." Elliot mutters.

"I'm not yet." Lightning says quietly. he brings the bat down as hard as he can, using every bit of strength he can, onto his fathers leg. Elliot chokes back a scream, glaring at Lightning dangerously. "when I get my hands on you..." Elliot growls. Lightning turns back to Doc, passing the bat to Junior again.

"okay, Doc, lets go." Lightning mumbles. he turns back to Smokey. "have fun you guys." Lightning waves, heading off. Smokey winks at him grinning.

"WHAT!? WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?" Elliot shouts, looking around.

"to put my sister rest." Lightning says. he pauses and turns to look at Elliot, a dark look in his eyes. "did you really think that after all you've done, I was gonna just... let you walk away from this? the abuse, shooting me and mom, killing her, killing Mikaela, killing Emily? did you honestly think you were gonna walk away from this?" Lightning ask. Elliot looks shocked, looking at Lightning. the younger man breaks out in a small grin, huffing a quiet laugh. "and you called me an idiot." Lightning mutters, taking Docs hand. Doc pulls his hand away and walks over to Elliot getting down in his ear to whisper.

"your little punching bag is mine now." Doc whispers harshly.

"stay the fuck away from him you faggot." Elliot growls lowly. Doc chuckles a little and whispers the worst thing he can think of in that moment..

"you're not the one he calls daddy anymore." Doc smirks with a wink, shoving him back. the chair lands on its back hard and Elliot shouts.

"you fucking faggot! get back here! where are you going!?" Elliot growls. Doc walks back over and takes Lightnings hand gently.

"c'mon kid. lets go find your sister." Doc murmurs softly. Lightning nods, following him back towards the Hornet. the moment they're back around the building, Lightning loses it. he breaks down into sobs. Doc holds him gently. "hey baby, its alright. its alright." Doc soothes gently. "you go get into the Hornet okay? I'm gonna make a couple calls and see if we can't get your sister found and buried before the wedding, alright?" Doc ask. Lightning nods, wiping at his eyes. he climbs into the passenger seat of the Hornet and sobs, hugging his knees. all those years he spent there in the house, with his stepsister and stepmother rotting under the porch. how could he not have known? how could he have left them there like that? they were there the whole time. Lightning doesn't register Doc getting in the Hornet and starting it up.

he's so lost in thought and his emotions, that he doesn't even remember walking up to their hotel room, but he must've because he's sitting on the bed when he finally comes out of his thoughts, and Doc can't carry him. Bolts curled up on the bed beside him, head in Lightnings lap.

"baby, Monty, hey, you okay?" Doc ask softly, watching him. "baby?" Doc murmurs, reaching out to cup his cheek.

"they were right under my feet the whole time..." Lightning says quietly.

"its not your fault, baby, you were only 6. you couldn't have known." Doc murmurs softly. Lightning looks up at him tearfully. "hey its alright come here." Doc says, pulling the younger man to him. "it's okay. everything's going to be okay." Doc assures gently, holding him tightly.

"its my fault." Lightning mumbles, sniffling.

"no kid. he was gonna do it whether you survived getting shot or not. you couldn't have stopped him baby. no one could have. its gonna be okay. its alright Monty." Doc murmurs, holding him closer. "you did it baby. you got him." Doc assures softly. he smiles at the younger man gently, cupping his cheek. "hey, baby, you did it. you really did it. you faced your father by yourself, you did it. you did it." Doc murmurs with a half smile.

"but its my fault they-" Lightning tries.

"no its not. its not your fault. just focus here kid. you will never have to be afraid of your father again. do you hear me? never. you will never see him again, he'll never hurt you again, he'll never break another of your bones, or make you bleed. he won't ever hit you again. he can't hunt you down anymore. you never have to be scared of him again. you never have to be afraid he's going to find you again kid. you did it. you. Monty you did it. you came out on top baby." Doc murmurs softly, smiling at him. "do you understand? do you hear me? he'll never hurt you again kid." Doc says, rubbing his thumb gently over his cheek. Lightning blinks at him a little. "do you understand me kid? you're safe." Doc murmurs softly. Lightning sniffles and reaches up to wipe his face, looking at Doc. Doc smiles at him a little, wiping the tears off the younger cheeks gently.

"m'nose hurts." Lightning mutters. Doc nods a little.

"okay, come on, to the bath room where there's light enough I can see." Doc smiles, leading him into the bathroom. Lightning sits on the toilet lid and looks up at Doc. "let me get my bag, stay right here baby." Doc murmurs, heading back to the main room. Lightning nods and waits silently for him, looking down when Bolt walks over to him with a soft whine.

"do you think I need therapy?" Lightning asks, just loud enough Doc can hear.

"therapy?" Doc ask, walking back in. he frowns a little, going over the events of the past few years in his head slowly. "I'm not going to say you need it, but I do think it would do you some good." Doc murmurs. he crouches down to look at the youngers nose. "try not to move okay? I don't want to hurt you." Doc adds.

"would it be wrong to bury them with my mom?" Lightning asks hesitantly.

"nah kid. it wouldn't be." Doc assures gently, feeling his nose.

"ow." Lightning mumbles.

"I'm sorry." Doc murmurs softly. "its not broken, but it's gonna hurt for a bit kid." Doc murmurs.

"m'gonna have a purple nose at our wedding." he mutters quietly.

"thats okay. it'll be just as purple as my shoulder." Doc assures.

"yeah but people don't have to look at that." Lightning mumbles.

"yeah, but just remember how you got that. felt pretty good to hit your dad back hmm?" Doc ask. Monty nods.

"yeah... it kinda did." he mutters. "I went a little overboard..." Lightning frowns.

"overboard? nah kid. he got off easy. I was rooting for you to kill him." Doc smiles a little. Lightning huffs quietly.