Guilt.

"No! Damn it no! This case has everything to do with my daughter Evan and you know that! Why?! You're the chief of police and you just—no! This has nothing to do with me!" Ryan yelled into the phone with pure rage aimed at no one other than the male on the other line. Bryce sat at the kitchen table, listening to his husband yell and cuss at the man who they once called their friend. He just heard the news that the F.B.I was going to be taking the case from the detectives hands and that meant they could no longer dig into the files at the station in search for answers. "Goddamn it Evan."

Bryce looked behind him to see his husband holding the phone near his chin as tears rushed down his cheeks. He stood up and made his way to him just to pull him into a warm embrace, his nose nuzzling into the older ones chest. "Bryce I don't know what to do..." he heard his husbands voice crack at that. "I promised you we'd find her and now...they're taking over the case...I...I can't do anything." The blonde male sighed as he closed his eyes and pressed his ear against his chest. "I'm so lost Brycey..."

Ryan let out a shaky breath as he hugged his man closer to him, his heart ached with pain and he was sure his lovers did as well. He had the case right where he needed it but then Evan gave the F.B.I a call just to fuck it up because he didn't want the mess on his end anymore. It was clear what needed to be done.

"Do you...do you think she's okay?"

This made Ryan freeze in his spot and his heart drop into his stomach as if it was an apple knocked off a tree. "W-what?" He asked, his eyes slightly wide. "Bryce...I'm sure she's fine." He sniffed as he tried to reassure his lover that their daughter—their world—was okay. But his words betray him as did the look in his eyes.

For all they knew she could've been dead. Their hope was slowly falling down on them, crushing whatever was left of their own sanity.

Bryce pulled away from his husband and walked back into the kitchen where he sat on the same stool and done the same thing he was doing before his husband had his breakdown. He stared forward with a blank expression on his face, looking out the window into the abyss. His husband glanced into the doorway to see his lover doing this.

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Evan sighed deeply as he hung up the phone on his friend. He hated to do it but he left him no choice. Every since he became chief his friend had been getting out of hands with the case they thought they solved a while ago. The Nurse was presumed dead because she was shot and burned alive with the church the town loved so much.

"Baby?" Came a voice from behind him. He turned around to see a sleepy Jonathan standing in his doorway with a tired expression. "What're you doing still up? It's nearly twelve in the morning."

He smiled faintly at his lover as he leaned back in his leather chair, "Oh you know...Ryan is still flipping his shit." Evan watched as his boyfriend frowned heavily at those words. He knew why too. Even Jonathan was upset that he lent the case over to the F.B.I because he knew who it involved in it.

"Do you blame them? Evan, you shouldn't have lent the case over like that...you knew Bryce and Ryan's child had something to do with it. I mean..." Jonathan looked down at the floor as he held himself as if he was cold. "If that was our child would you hand the case over?"

Evan stayed silent as he locked eyes with the other male who stood across from him with a look of confusion. "Of course not baby. That's our kid." He confessed as he let his hands fall in his lap. "I just...ughhh." The Canadian pulled at his face as the thought of that happening to him flashed like thunder and the feeling of guilt washed over him.

"You were being selfish. You were thinking about your record around here." Jonathan sighed out. "You shouldn't have handed it over. That's the whole point here now."