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They're here again, Zack grumbled inwardly as the police continued their questions in the Argents' living room. A stern panther and a white rabbit both in uniforms stood over his boyfriend, who answered their inquiries awkwardly while avoiding eye contact. Why don't they just leave? Can't they see they're bothering him?

_ _ "That's quite an experience," said the rabbit when Charlie finished yet another recountal of his assault.

Zack noticed that the panther beside him remained silent as he took notes. Did he even care? Was this just another day at work for him? "Are we done here?" Zack demanded. "Can't you see this is upsetting to him. To us?"

"Sorry, we just have to be thorough," the officer replied. He probably said that to everyone.

"We'll get out of your fur for now," said the other officer. He closed his notebook and brushed off his uniform. "We'll be in touch if we need anything more from you."

Good, now go away, Zack thought before the rabbit, instead of leaving, stepped forward with a card in his paw. The card was placed gingerly on the table, and he watched Charlie stare at it. Craning his head to read it, Zack made out the words "Dr. Reid."

"Who's Doctor Reid?"

"A therapist the force has for victims of assault," came the reply.

Great, so more police bullshit.

_ _ "He's on the police payroll, so you don't have to worry about payment or anything," the officer continued. "If you find you need help, he's one of the best in the field."

"Thanks," Charlie said absently. He still wasn't making eye contact.

"Take care, kid," the officer said. "Come on, Henry. We've got work to do."

As the two officers left, Zack eyed the card on the table again, gears turning. That was the second card Charlie had gotten in two days. He couldn't imagine how stressful all of this was to him. Was even more exposure a good idea?

Before the police could make fully out the door, Zack left his boyfriend sitting on the couch and hurried to the door. He caught them just as they were leaving. "Hey!" Mindful of his boyfriend in the living room, he lowered his voice. "Hey, I have a question."

The officers both stopped in their tracks and turned around, the rabbit looking concerned, but the panther maintaining that same serious expression. He reminded him of Mr. Argent in some ways.

"Why would you make him talk to even more people?" Zack demanded. "He's still trying to recover, and you just barged into his house without blinking an eye."

The officers exchanged glances, and the rabbit waved to his partner. "Go ahead, Henry. I'll talk to him."

"No, come back!" Zack snapped when the panther made to leave. "Do you even realize what you're doing to him? Tell the rest of the force to stop bothering him."

"Please, mister..." The rabbit paused to get Zack's name. When he didn't give it, he simply continued. "We're not trying to intrude. Talking to a therapist will help him get over what happened to him."

"How do you know that? You don't know him well enough to say that," Zack accused.

"And you do?" The panther officer, Henry, asked in a pointed tone.

"Henry!" The rabbit admonished, whipping his head around to address his partner. "I said wait in the car!"

"Yes, I do," said Zack, ignoring the rabbit's outburst. "Better than you ever will."

"Maybe, but I've seen things like this happen before where the victim doesn't get help," said Henry. "And it doesn't end nicely."

"That's not for you to decide. He's been through a lot," Zack retaliated. "Leave him alone and let me and his family handle it."

"Can I ask you a personal question?" The rabbit cut in before his partner could respond.

"Like you haven't been already," Zack said wryly.

"Do you have something against therapists?"

"What?" Zack stammered, suddenly finding it hard to form words. "No!"

"Then why are you so against your friend talking to one?" The rabbit challenged.

"I'm not - I just want people to stop bothering him about it, that's all!" Zack insisted. "He needs space."

"And he'll have plenty of it. It's his choice after all; no one's forcing him to do anything." The officer slowly stepped forward. "But I think you're taking this a little personally."

"Taking it personally?" Zack repeated as if it were the dumbest suggestion he'd ever heard. "Of course I'm taking it personally. He's my -"

"If you care for him, then give it some thought. We're only trying to help." The officer spread his arms in an innocent fashion. "Please. For his sake. It can't hurt to try."

Like hell it can't, Zack grumbled internally, but he knew arguing further would only encourage them. "Yeah, whatever. Just go away and leave us alone."

The rabbit seemed to want to say something else, but a nudge from his partner made him change his mind. He gave a smile and a brief nod, and he followed Henry back to the car.

Zack huffed and returned inside, finding Charlie still in the living room. Mr. Argent had joined him. Charlie jumped up immediately and rounded on him. "What were you talking to them about?"

Startled, Zack stopped and held up his hands. "Whoa, where'd that come from?"

Charlie seemed to regret the question and shrank back. "I think...I need some air...Where's my phone?"

Zack stared at him cautiously, as if waiting for him to explode. "In your room, but - Charlie!"

His exclamation fell on deaf ears. Charlie, without saying another word, practically flew up the stairs and out of sight. Leaving Mr. Argent on the couch, Zack followed him. The sudden outburst had left him spooked.

He's no better than he was yesterday...maybe Officer Asshole has a point...

Some time later, Zack returned back downstairs. After bringing up the idea with Charlie of talking to a therapist, he was still in conflict. Charlie absolutely refused to do anything to try and put the incident behind him and didn't want to talk to anyone about it - not even his own boyfriend. If Zack couldn't help him, and a therapist couldn't help him - at least not yet - maybe he just needed a change of scenery.

Zack found Mr. Argent in the kitchen washing dishes from that morning's breakfast. He didn't notice the jackal come in at first, so he had to clear his throat to get his attention. It came out sounding like a dog getting strangled. "Uh, Mr. Argent?"

"Hmm?" The older wolf remained with his back to room, scrubbing something in the sink.

"I was wondering if..." Zack had to remind himself to keep his voice steady. It was important that he got Mr. Argent's approval. "Could Charlie come stay at my place for a while?"

"How long?" Mr. Argent responded without missing a beat, putting another rinsed plate onto the rack with a clink.

"I was thinking he could stay overnight," Zack said. "Let him have a change of pace, you know?"

"No," Mr. Argent said simply, beginning on another dish.

Zack had been afraid of this. "But he's having a hard time. Can't you see he's miserable?"

"Of course I can. He's my son." Mr. Argent dried his paws on an old rag and turned to face him, his face contorted into a resentful grimace. "Are you trying to say that I can't see my own son's pain?"

"No, not at all," Zack insisted. "I just thought that since he's clearly not in a good place mentally right now, he needs some air. He's had people breathing down his neck since yesterday and that's not good for him."

"Don't tell me what's good for Charles. That's for me to decide," Mr. Argent snapped. "You're lucky I even let you stay for as long as you have."

"Mr. Argent, please. I'm not trying to criticize you or anything. I'm just really concerned for him. He barely talks to me, and he's probably been quiet with you too."

Mr. Argent huffed and crossed his arms as he pondered this. "How do I know something won't happen while he's out of my sight?"

"It won't," said Zack. "He'll be in good hands at my place. Not that he isn't safe with you," he added when Mr. Argent started to protest. "I just think he could use a bit of variety right now. And my folks are dying to know he's okay."

"Did you call them?"

"I did. But they'll want to see him. They're worried."

There was a pause as Mr. Argent considered his options. "You know how I feel about you being alone with him. After what happened."

Zack had to force himself to maintain eye contact. "Yes."

"And you remember what I told you during that first talk we had."

"Yes."

"So you know how hard it is for me to trust that you'll take care of him when I'm not there."

"Yes," Zack said. "But I also know that he's not going to get any better just moping around all day. You heard the police; he needs to talk to someone. Maybe if we can bring him out of his shell a bit, he'll be willing to. I want to see him get better as much as you do."

"Hmm..." The few moments' silence was near agony as Mr. Argent continued to ponder. His eyes burned into him with his piercing stare, yet Zack got the feeling that he was gazing at something far away.

"You'll have him call tonight to check in?"

Zack blinked. "Yes, of course. So, can he come?"

"I want him back first thing in the morning," said Mr. Argent sternly. "And no..._funny_business between you two. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

...................................

After their arrival at the Bailey house, they'd had to endure the initial welcomes and "are you okay?"s from Zack's concerned parents. It was just what Zack had expected, but it was also what he knew Charlie didn't want to hear right now. Tristan managed to get a genuine smile out of him though, so that was a plus.

The brief workout session they had afterwards seemed to bring a little life back into Charlie, though it was more of an excuse to let him vent than any proper exercise. They still worked up enough of a sweat that they needed to shower afterwards. They did so separately, having agreed they weren't ready to take _that_step just yet.

Zack came out of his bathroom freshly cleaned and fully dressed. Charlie sat perched on his bed flipping through his phone for the hundredth time that morning. Was he expecting a call or something? Zack thought it rude to ask.

"You wanna do something else?" Zack asked him.

Charlie looked up and merely shrugged. "I dunno. Isn't it time for lunch soon?"

Zack glanced at the alarm clock. It was indeed about half past noon. "I guess. Ma might let you help out with lunch if you ask. You hungry?"

"A little bit." Charlie looked back down at his phone. "I'll go down and ask soon."

Zack nodded. "Okay. You want to eat up here away from the family? Give you some space?"

Charlie gave an exasperated sigh and met his eyes. "No, I'm fine. They're just concerned, and I don't mind. Please stop asking."

"Okay. Sorry." Zack planned to warn them all anyway for Charlie's sake. He knew they meant well, but as he just witnessed, too many questions would only aggravate him further. Seth in particular might prove to be a problem.

Where was Seth anyway? Now that he gave it some thought, Zack couldn't remember seeing or hearing from Seth since the morning before.

"See you in a bit," Zack said, leaving the room. He found Seth's bedroom down the hall and knocked on the door. There was no sound from inside but frantic typing and some muffled swearing. Seth was here alright. He knocked again.

"It's unlocked," came the surly reply, followed by, "Jesus fucking Christ, learn to play you dumbass!"

Somewhat reluctantly, Zack twisted the knob and nudged open the door. There sat Seth, positioned in front of a gaming rig with a headset over his ears. He appeared to be furiously typing in a chat box Zack couldn't read.

"You shouldn't use that language with people around," Zack admonished. "How do you know it wasn't Ma or Pa at the door?"

"I could just tell," said Seth. He smashed the return key and whipped his head around to face Zack, knocking his headset slightly askew. "What do you want?"

Zack ignored his brother's rudeness for now. "I just came to tell you that Charlie's over. He's gonna stay overnight."

"'Kay." Seth turned nonchalantly back to his game and started playing again.

"Did you hear me?"

"Uh huh."

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Something nice!" Zack urged in frustration. "Be concerned or something! Do you really not care why he's here?"

"He got attacked, didn't he? So he's here for some time off. Fine." A phone buzzed on the dresser, and Seth snatched it up, starting to text.

"Exactly. And I want you to say something nice to him when you see him," said Zack. "He's going through a tough time and he needs the encouragement."

"You sound like Mom," Seth said, rolling his eyes.

"Seth..."

"Why do I have to do anything? He probably doesn't want to talk about it anyway." Seth's phone buzzed again, and he became once more preoccupied with the device.

"Who are you texting?" Zack demanded.

"None of your business," Seth snapped without looking up.

"Well at least listen to me when I'm talking to you."

"I was listening. Charlie's here. Be nice. Got it." Seth got up and pocketed his phone. He began loading controllers and game cases into his bag.

"Now what are you doing?" Zack asked.

"Going to Raymond's," Seth replied. He slung the backpack over his shoulder and pushed past his brother. "I'm not gonna be here anyway, so you don't need to worry about me."

"Hey, wait just a minute!" Zack called after him, but Seth had already started down the stairs. He followed his brother's tracks and found his crossing the living room to the front door.

"Where are you going, Seth?" Geoff asked from the couch.

"To Raymond's," Seth said offhandedly. "I'll be back for dinner."

"Do you need a ride?"

"Nope. He's picking me up."

"Oh. Okay," Geoff said with a slightly disappointed look. "Well, have fun. Tell Raymond I said hi."

"Uh huh." Seth was out the door barely before Zack made it downstairs. What was up with him? What would have him running off to his friend's at a moment's notice? It was like the mention of Charlie put him off for some reason. Unless...

"Hey, Pa? If Charlie asks, I've gone to the store to pick something up." Zack grabbed his keys and prepared to leave. "I'll be back in a bit."

Without waiting for an answer, Zack went outside into the sun. Glancing up and down the street, he spotted an unfamiliar car turning the corner. He had been to Raymond's a few times, and he was certain no one in that household owned that particular model.

He hopped into his truck and followed in the same direction the car disappeared. Following the road out of the neighborhood, he finally spotted the car turning out of the development. Zack continued tailing them at a distance. He was going to figure out just where Seth kept running off to.