**Morgue**

The detectives arranged for Richie to be driven to the morgue for the formal identification process. He reluctantly walked in with the officers and waited, impatiently tapping his fingers on his thigh, while they filled out the necessary paperwork.

He shivered as the air conditioning kicked on and blew directly on his neck. Finally the attendants approached and asked him to follow them downstairs.

"Can...can I wait for someone? Please?" Richie asked. He was broken and didn't know if he could face this alone. The attendant nodded and went to get a coffee for Richie.

"Rich?!"

He turned at the sound of Jon's voice and fell into his arms and sobbed. "She's gone...."

"Shh, Rich," Jon held tight, "I'm here now. I got you, baby."

"I'll kill him, Jon," Richie cried. "I swear to God I'll fucking kill him!"

"We'll give you a moment," the officer said. Jon nodded and the officers stood to one side.

"Tell me," Jon pulled back and held Richie's face in his hands, "Tell me what's happened."

Richie took a deep, shuddering breath and recounted the whole story. "I should have done something at Christmas! He was right there. That psycho was right fucking there, Jonny, and I just...I fucking left him there!"

"You couldn't have known," Jon reasoned, "He'd been given the all clear. He was on medication. You couldn't have known that he was relapsing."

"He's got Raiden, Jon," Richie said, "Where the fuck would he take him?"

"He could be anywhere," Jon shook his head, "I'm sure the police have got that covered. Right now..." Jon sighed, "right now, Natalie needs you one last time. I'll be waiting right here for you."

"No! Come with me...please?" Richie pleaded frantically.

"Okay, okay, I'm right here...shh, Rich," Jon hugged his friend again and nodded at the officers.

The attendant and officer led them down the cool dim corridors to the viewing window of an exam room. "Now we can't show much because of the extensive physical damage from the crash," the attendant explained kindly. "Over 90 percent of her body was either burned or crushed. We were, however, able to determine from bruising and tearing of her anus and marks around her neck that she was assaulted, choked, and raped less than 24 hours ago."

"Fuck," Jon breathed. "You sure about this, Rich?"

Richie grasped Jon's hand and nodded slowly. The sheet was pulled back from Natalie's face and down to her chin. He cried out in agony and sank to the floor sobbing.

"Fuck! Natalie no! No, darlin', no!"

Jon scrubbed his hand over his face and nodded to the person behind the window as confirmation before turning his attention to Richie, squatting down in front of him.

"C'mere baby," Jon pulled him into a tight embrace, letting Richie cry for as long as he wanted to. "You're staying with me tonight. I don't wanna leave you alone when you're like this."

"We'll let you know if there's any development," the officer said. "As soon as Mrs. Bryan is awake, she'll be the first one we question. If you two think of anything that could help, here's my card. Just give me a call."

Later that night in the Shoe Inn, Jon handed Richie a drink, the bottle on the bar between them, knowing that Richie needed a safe environment for him to grieve the way he needed to. Jon joined him but never finished his glass as quickly as Richie was. He wanted to be the one to pull the pin on Richie's drinking when he'd had enough.

Dot had gone to bed hours ago, leaving the men to their grief. They hadn't heard from Richie in two years but she realized that Richie needed Jon, more than anything else, that's when they walked down the pathway to the bar.

"Jonny?" Richie said at one stage as they avoided the elephant in the room for awhile and reminisced about years gone by.

"Hmm?" Jon blew out a puff of cigarette smoke. The bar was the only place he allowed himself to smoke these days.

"I'm sorry..." Richie sighed sadly, "I'm sorry for everything. For walking out...on the band... and you. I love you, you know that, right? But you had Dot...and...and I wanted that for myself."

"You hurt me, Rich," Jon said bitterly, "You slept with Nat while we were together, lie about it, then you walked away from the band. Then I hear you're engaged to her? What was I supposed to think, huh?"

"I wanted you," Richie cried, "but I couldn't have you. So...so I thought Nat and I could have a good life together, but I screwed that up too." He emptied his glass in one gulp and poured another. "Why? Why do the people I love keep leaving me?"

"I never left you!" Jon railed at him, "You left me, motherfucker! You'd gone before I could even tell you..."

Jon stood and stalked angrily around the small space, "Before I could even tell you that I'd asked Dot for a divorce. Asshole! So when you disappeared without a trace, I begged for her to take me back like a schmuck."

"What?" Richie tried to understand what Jon was saying through his drink fuddled head.

"She knows, okay?" Jon continued as he stood staring out into the night from the front window, "She knows about you and I. So the fact she's letting you stay here tonight is a miracle because she knows that I'll always choose you over her."

"Jon...I'm...fuck, baby, I'm sorry," Richie choked out, "I'm so sorry..."

"Tell me one thing?" Jon turned back to him, "Did you love Nat? Like you used to say you loved me?"

Richie shook his head, "Never as much as I loved you but I did fall in love with her. We spent so much time laying on the patio at night just looking at the stars. Nothing else. Just watching the stars. Or bowling. She liked simple and lowkey, which was a nice change."

"Then what went wrong?" Jon asked in a fit of pique, "She sounds perfect for you. Thought you were going to marry her."

"I fucked up. No denying it," Richie said, "I got drunk one night, topped that up with a little something else and fucked some blonde chick that vaguely looked like Heather."

Jon closed his eyes and sighed, unable to hold back his disappointment. "Let me guess...Natalie walked in on you? Kinda like I walked in on you and her?" Richie bowed his head and nodded, ignoring the burning glare from Jon. "Goddamnit, Rich..."

"Fuck...I know, Jonny," Richie groaned. "When I came up for Christmas...fuck...I was hoping I could win her back--"

"You mean sweet talk her," Jon interrupted. "Surprise, Rich. Natalie isn't...wasn't...the type to fall for your pick up lines."

"She fell for David's," Richie pointed out, "After everything he did to her, she still took him back."

"Yeah and look where that got her," Jon bit back.

Richie and Jon were silent for several minutes, neither looking at the other. They both jumped when Richie's phone notified him of a new message. He tossed back the last of his drink and brought up the message from an unknown number.

Looking for him? Under the words was a photo of Raiden's favorite shirt, smeared in blood. Richie threw the phone down and raced to the bathroom, vomiting up the burning alcohol and sobbing.

"Rich?" Jon questioned as the brunette almost knocked him off his feet in his haste, "The booze got to you already?"

Richie ignored Jon's question and heaved until his stomach was empty, sinking to his knees and grabbing his dark hair. "Raiden...no...please...no...oh god no!"

"What's up, man?" Jon stood in the doorway, his hands on his hips and a concerned look on his face, "What's happened? What was the message about?"

"Raiden...my little boy...no...not him..."

Jon gave Richie a frown and raced back to the bar, finding Richie's phone on the floor beside his seat. The screen came to life when he picked it up and, after hitting the password that Richie never changes, the photo of the bloodied shirt filled the screen.

He wasn't a screamer like his mommy, had been sent after the photo.

Jon swallowed back the bile that burnt the back of his throat as another photo came through. It was Raiden. Laying partially on his belly. His eyes closed and a bloodied knife next to him. The exposure of the photo was so bad, Jon couldn't tell if his skin was a healthy, alive, pink or something more sinister.

Richie hobbled back in and collapsed on the sofa, curling in on himself and his dark hair hanging in curtains around his tear-stained face. "Jonny, will you just sit and hold me?"

Jon nodded and sat beside Richie, needing comfort as much as his friend did. Richie turned in his seat and almost crawled into his lap. Jon wrapped his arms around him as Richie let his emotions loose once more.

"I think we should send this to the police," Jon said when Richie finally fell quiet, his hands shaking violently as he keyed in the detective's number.

When there was no response Jon looked down to the man, the love of his life that he just couldn't get over, and saw that he was finally asleep.

He quietly pulled out his phone and launched his messaging app. Searching through his contacts, Jon chose the one labeled Lema and messaged the number. "D?"

David: Oh hey, Jon! To what do I owe the pleasure? <3

Jon: Busy?

David: A little ;-) having a late dinner on the beach ∩(︶▽︶)∩ Make it quick.

Jon: The beach? Natalie's gone, Lema. She died in an accident today.

David: Sad times, man XD She was a good one! A little fucked up in the head but still a good one. She was a blowjob you could always rely on ( •॒◞ ͜◟•॒ )

Jon: Have you seen Raiden?

David: Yeah, he's about four, blonde curls, always has his finger up his nose ;P

Jon: Fucking Christ, Lema. Raiden's missing. Have you seen him recently?

David: Nope! Natalie and I had an argument, she kicked me out. So no...i haven't seen Raiden. (*_*)

Jon: Where's Lexi?

David: Here with me, of course!! Sorry gotta go. Keep me posted ✌✌(˵¯̴͒ꇴ¯̴͒˵)✌✌

"Fuck!" Jon swore softly. The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck just stood on end. He was sure that Richie had said Lexi had been taken to hospital. With the sound Richie's soft snoring, Jon sent a couple messages back and forth to Matt.

He had nearly fallen into a slumber himself when Richie's phone buzzed again. Richie didn't stir so Jon opened the new message.

Unknown: Uncle Mookie?

Richie: He's asleep. It's Jon. Who's this?

Unknown: Gabby.

Richie: Gabby? Who's phone are you using???

Unknown: I think it might be Dad's? It fell out of his pocket, I think. Sitting next to his chair. Cheap ass knockoff.

Richie: Fuck! Where are you? Who's with you?

Unknown: Um Colton, Lily, Dad and Raiden

Richie: RAIDEN?? He's there? He's okay?? WHERE ARE YOU?

Unknown: Yeah he's playing by the water with Lily making a sandcastle.

Richie: Gabby! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU? I need to know, honey?

Unknown: Dad brought us on a family vacation

Richie: How does your dad seem? Has he taken his meds in front of you?

Unknown: What are you talking about? Dad hasn't taken any medication since like Christmas. Said he was feeling great

Richie: Oh god...

Unknown: Why? What's up?

Richie: Honey, I don't want to alarm you but we think your dad has relapsed and has done something awful. Just act like you don't know what's happening and delete all these messages NOW! Text me from your phone if you need me. DELETE NOW!

Unknown: Oh you do, do you Jonny?

Richie: Lema? Where's Gabby?

Unknown: Learning to mind her own business.

Richie: You haven't hurt her, have you, you sick fuck!?

Unknown: Tootles!

Richie: LEMA?

Richie: DAVID? Answer me!

Jon bellowed with rage and stood quickly, pacing the room, waking Richie from his alcohol induced sleep.

"Jonny?" Richie asked groggily, "What's up?"

*~*David*~*

"Where did you get this phone?" David demanded of his daughter.

Gabby shrunk down in her chair and whispered, "It was by your chair. Why such a cheap knockoff thought and what's that picture of Raiden, Dad?"

"Remember Raiden's mother who was abusive to him?" Gabby nodded and David continued, "I was forwarding her messages to Richie in hopes he could help. Natalie was not a good person, honey. Now...go keep an eye on Raiden and Lily, yeah? I promise. Everything is great..."

Gabby smiled and hopped up from the chair, throwing her arms around his neck. "Love you, Dad."

"Love you too, Lunabear."

David stood and glared as his twins joined the younger two. His hands tightened as he removed the phone battery and SIM card. The plastic of the phone cracked and eventually broke into pieces.

He tossed the broken phone into a nearby rubbish bin and grinned.

Raiden was finishing the sandcastle with Colton when David joined them by the water, collapsing in his chair and smiling. He checked his watch and saw it was nearing 8pm. "Looking good, guys! Time to pack up and get back to the boat though."

"Five more minutes," Raiden grumbled testily.

"We just need to find some shells to finish it off," Lily said.

"You three go look for shells then," David suggested.

"I wanna go with them, too," Raiden said, jumping up, ready to race off.

"No. That's a job for big kids. You stay here and finish your moat," David argued. "Go on," he gestured to his three eldest.

"No! I wanna go with Lily!" he cried and stomped his foot in the soft sand. "I want my Mommy."

David raised an eyebrow and shooed off the others, standing up and hovering over Raiden. He bent down and gripped Raiden's chin in his hand, forcing the little boy to look at him. "Your Mommy had an issue with obeying commands too and you saw what happened to her. I don't want to have to hurt you too. You need to follow what I say, especially when we get back to the boat, just in case you have an accident and fall overboard. The ocean is a dark and scary place at night...especially for a four year old. You say one word to anyone and I'll kill your Mommy and Mookie."

Raiden gasped and with wild eyes, nodded and plopped down beside the sandcastle. He sat as still as a statue, hands folded in his lap and the sandcastle completely forgotten.

"Good boy," David smiled.

Gabby and Colton came racing back, trying to beat each other and Lily following behind with her t-shirt holding a bounty of seashells for decorations.

Raiden immediately crawled into Gabby's lap for protection, not making a sound as they placed each shell. Every now and then, he would glance up to see David either packing up their belongings or staring back at him.

"You see this one? It's special," Lily said and held out a purple and blue seashell to Raiden. "Thought you might like it."

He took it and hugged it. "My LilyShell."

"What's up, kiddo?" Colton asked, "Have your batteries run out all of a sudden?"

Raiden hesitated then whispered, "I wanna go home. I miss Mommy."

"Well then let's get back to the boat," Colton said, "We can watch a movie together. Would you like that? When is Natalie joining us, Dad?"

"She's not really a beach person," David lied easily and added, "We'll see her when we get back to Jersey."

Raiden frowned at him and hugged Colton. "Can we have pizza too?"

"I think there was a pizza parlor on the way back," Colton replied and let Raiden hop onto his shoulders piggyback. "Brothers night!"

"Yay!" Raiden said, "C'mon Colton, faster! I'm hungry!"