Lars woke the next morning, wondering how things would be between he and Tanner. But he kissed him by way of greeting, which Lars took to mean all was well. They got up and showered together, which ended in another soapy round of wrestling, which Lars one. They didn’t make it out of the bathroom for that one, but the shower was too small, so Tanner knelt over the sink. They had to rinse off again after that.

Tanner went to take care of the dog while Lars cooked breakfast and made fresh coffee. It was over breakfast and coffee as they were laughing and recounting tales from the last ten years that were funny, or small moments of happiness that had made them think of each other, that Tanner stopped and said,

“So, I guess this means we’re dating.” It was a blunt, simple statement but held all the answers to the questions Lars had bouncing around in his head. They weren’t the traditional couple by any means. He felt certain their idea of dating would be to spend an evening away from the pub and the coast at the cabin and play cards or maybe have a few beers. Perhaps they’d pack up and go camping this summer and take the four wheelers and ride the trails, stopping only to have at each other when the desire became too much. Lars was planning to stock up on Dramamine. He knew Tanner loved to fish, and he figured who better than a Coast Guard Agent to take him fishing on the Atlantic.

“Yeah, I guess that does.” He replied. There was no need for either to proclaim it to anyone in public. It wasn’t their business and Lars didn’t want the extra attention than necessary. If they said something all official, it would have Ollie breathing down their necks. Tanner nodded, and Lars knew that was the gist of that conversation, and he somehow felt more relieved than if it had been an in depth discussion about the matter. He knew this because it was the genuine way of Tanner’s nature, which made it even more real for him. Lars smiled as he took care of the breakfast dishes.

“I have to go check on Gram. Then I’ll swing by the pub if that’s alright.” Tanner told him. He nodded and said,

“Give my best to her. Tell her to come home soon, the dog is driving me nuts.” Tanner grinned and headed for the door but turned back like he was forgetting something. He strode over and kissed Lars firmly on the lips. It was hard at first, but then he seemed to think of something, maybe a movie reference, that told him to soften the kiss and express tenderness and emotion through it. Lars returned the kiss and smiled at his retreating back when they broke off. He knew this was new for Tanner, just as much as it was for him. But he also knew it was taking Tanner a lot to trust again, seeing how he had been so horribly used in the last relationship.

Lars wondered about Jacques. He wondered about the man who had had his Tanner for so long. He was in prison now, but that didn’t mean a convicted felon wasn’t charming or sexy in his physical appearance. He thought about the haunted look Tanner had when he pinned his arms behind his back last night. He wondered if he had thought of Jacques when he did it. He knew he wouldn’t be able to help but compare. That was human nature. But it burned in his chest to think about it.

Lars left the house and headed home to check on his own place. He fired up his computer and did something he never thought he would have done in a million years. He searched for the trial of Jacques in Florida. It took him a few minutes with a few adjustments to keyword searches before he found him. Not having a last name, he had to search for things involving smuggling, trafficking and the coast guard to connect it all. He found him after a while and read about the trial. There was no reference to Tanner at all except the involvement of the coast guard, but Lars was certain he had the right article. The picture that Lars found of Jacques was proof that the man was attractive, at least physically. But Lars shuddered at the cold look in his eyes. There was no emotion.

He shut down the computer after a while, committing the name and face of Jacques LaFontaine to memory. He was Creole and had the flawless dark skin of his heritage, and the French influence of his southern Louisiana roots. He had relocated to Florida to commence his crime lord entity, and Lars could see how he might easily manipulate people with looks like his. He and Jacques were polar opposites, and yet even looking at his picture, he couldn’t imagine he had ever let Tanner have the upper hand. Which meant Tanner had to force himself to submit to him. It must have done some damage to his psyche, knowing he didn’t truly want him, despite his body’s physical response. It made Lars understand the haunted look when he finally pinned him on the stairs last night, and he felt for Tanner and was glad he had himself succumbed to his desires.

Lars got up, and went down to the pub, enjoying the sound of the birds chirping in the late April, early morning sun. Despite the fresh mountain of snow they had just received, the day was already warming to the point that the majority of it was going to melt off and the sounds of running water would fill the streets as the storm drains filled. Lars turned his face up to the sky, breathing in the crisp, coastal Maine air and despite how tired he was, for once feeling like he was on the right track to something good.

When he got to the pub, he was able to accomplish the rest of his inventory check and then place the order for supplies for the busy season. He held several interviews and hired the wait staff he needed for the summer. He was feeling content and accomplished when Jesse walked in to help him open up the bar. It was unusually busy that night, as it was April vacation and around spring break for the college students as well. There would be another lull the next couple of weeks before it picked up again, but Lars was satisfied to feel like there was a spark of life in his chest that had been missing for so long. He couldn’t wait to see Tanner that night. Gram was coming home tomorrow and he was anxious for that, knowing Tanner would hover over her and they would drive each other crazy. He wanted to be the rock and foundation for Tanner over the next few weeks while she healed. Then she would go back to her usual self, if not with the use of a cane to get around now. It just made her a little more lethal. She was already knee deep in gossip as she had so many people stop by the hospital to keep her apprised Lars felt like she was the kind of woman who would be with it, mentally that is, up until the day she eventually did pass.

As he and Jesse served drinks, he was smiling and chatting with the customers, not something he did often before then despite maintaining a pleasant demeanor to keep them coming back. He thought there was nothing that could mar the ambiance of the evening, until two mean looking men walked into the pub. He instantly recognized trouble when one of them said in a heavy southern accent,

“Is Tanner Mason around?”

The whole pub went silent. No one said a word and Lars took it as this meant, as he was the owner of the pub, it was his responsibility to deal with these men. They wore crisp black suits with boots and pristine white shirts. He recognized the influence of money immediately. George stood from his stool and was about to say something, but Lars shook his head at him and he sat back down.

“Who are you?” Lars asked. He knew perfectly well who sent them, but he wanted to see how much he could stall until he could alert the authorities. He carefully put his thumb in his pocket, pressing his phone on so he could easily call for help if he needed to. The men couldn’t see below his waist line because he was behind the bar, but Jesse noticed it. He gave the slightest, most imperceptible nod to stop Jesse from saying anything. The men looked at Lars and seemed to assess his threat level.

“We’re looking for Tanner Mason.” He said again. Lars skirted the bar and walked a few steps towards them, in hopes of shielding as many of his patrons from them, despite there being two of them to one of him. He felt anger flare in his chest that Jacques would have the nerve, even from prison to send someone after Tanner. He wondered at just how far reaching his pull was, even as a convicted felon, and he worried he would be looking over Tanner’s shoulder for the rest of their lives.

“I understand you are looking for him.” He said as evenly as he could. He didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell them he wasn’t going to tell them until they told him why they wanted him. He also wasn’t going to deny they were well aware someone in such a small town would know where Tanner was. It seemed like wasted breath and words to him to do so, so instead he stalled for more time. Everyone in the bar could sense trouble. And it wasn’t as if they couldn’t tell these men were flatlanders, even without their heavy accents. Suits like the ones they wore were typically seen in boardrooms in Portland, or movies. Now would be a really good time for one of Ollie’s unannounced and unwelcome visits, but he had been laying low since the complaint and especially since Shirley had gotten involved with it when she found out. She had a meeting with Chief Bennington about it and put in her two cents worth, as she called it. But it seemed Ollie wasn’t coming, to harass them or aid them.

“Tell me where he is.” The one on the left said. He was shorter than his partner but he was equally as dangerous. Judging by the bulge at the waist of his jacket on his right side, he was carrying a concealed weapon too. That made him just as dangerous in Lars’ mind. His friend sneered at Lars and then turned to the shorter one.

“Let’s go. He’ll turn up soon.” But before he could leave, Tanner spoke up from behind him.

“Lafayette, Jean-Paul, it’s been a while. What are you two doing here?” He asked casually. Lars had never noticed before, but he was glad now as he observed the obvious sign of a concealed weapon on Tanner’s side. Tanner hadn’t been wearing one the last few times they had seen each other. Or he had stowed it in a vehicle or at Gram’s house when he had shown up, but it had never been on his person when he was around. He wondered why he hadn’t considered it before. Tanner was law enforcement after all, so he should have guessed he would have a weapon, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He really didn’t want his bar being shot up like some Hollywood movie. This was a small town in Maine for Pete’s sake. Stuff like that just didn’t happen.

“You caused a lot of trouble in Miami.” Lafayette murmured. He was the shorter one that Tanner had nodded to first when he addressed them, so Lars assumed that’s who he was.

“Yeah, maybe. But trouble was already brewing when I got there.” Tanner replied.

“Is there someplace more private we can talk?” Jean-Paul asked him, looking around at every wide-eyed tourist and regular in the place.

“Of course, I imagine we have a lot of catching up to do. I own a cabin not far. It’s off the highway and private enough.”

Lars wanted to scream at him, despite knowing he was taking the altercation out of a public place where people could get hurt. He had just gotten him back, he didn’t want to risk losing him again. The two men turned to Tanner and Lars shook his head no at him, but trained to control his body language, Tanner made no indication that he understood Lars.

The three men walked out of the bar and the place erupted in a commotion of noise and people speaking over each other. Lars immediately fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed 911. He was put through to the police, and much to his horror, Ollie answered the call.

“911 what’s your emergency?” His tone drawled through the phone.

“Ollie?” He asked.

“Yes, this is Officer Ollie Sherwin, what’s your emergency.” So, Ollie must have been demoted to desk duty and fielding calls.

“Ollie, it’s Lars. I need your help. There are two guys who have gone with Tanner to the cabin. They’re bad guys. They worked for a crime lord when he was down in Florida, and they’ve come here looking for him. You’ve got to go help him. Send someone. Ollie?” Lars could only hear the guy breathing on the other end of the line. He knew now was the moment of truth, how far Ollie’s hatred might carry him.

“Is there a description of the men?” Ollie asked through gritted teeth.

“I don’t see how that’s relevant. Ollie, please. You’ve got to send someone to help him. They are criminals!” Lars insisted.

“How do you know? Do you know these men personally?” he asked, still trying to keep his tone even.

Lars swore. Ollie was just going to remain as diplomatic as possible, driving him crazy but still being able to say he remained professional. He had a point and Lars knew it, but it didn’t help the urgency of the situation now. He hung up the phone and shouted to Jesse over the din to remain here at the pub.

He ran out to his truck and started the engine. He was sure Tanner would take the men to the cabin via the entrance from the highway, because it took longer to get there.

Lars gunned his truck to the police station, praying he would find Chief Bennington to help him instead of Ollie. When he ran into the reception area, there were a few people milling about, some in handcuffs with other Officers booking them in, and others waiting for appointments or to speak with Ollie.

Lars looked around desperately as Ollie spotted him. He glared through the glass and stood like he was going to come out the secured door and tell him to fill out a full report. But Lars didn’t have time for that. He looked at a few officers standing over by a watercooler and spotted one who looked familiar.

“Officer Kent!” He called. The guy looked up. “Officer Kent, you have to come with me. There are two guys from Florida. They work for a crime lord convicted by Tanner. They came to the pub and Tanner led them away to a cabin.”

“Huh?” He asked just as Ollie burst out the door.

“Please listen. These men are criminals. They will hurt him.”

“I took his report. It was spotty and didn’t make sense!” Ollie hollered as he approached. Lars looked pleadingly at Officer Kent.

“Please, they are going to hurt him. They have guns and I know Tanner. He led them away so if anything happens, they wouldn’t hurt people in the pub. Please go and check it out. I can show you where the cabin is.” He insisted. Officer Kent looked between him and Ollie who was purple faced with rage.

“Jackson, Pomerleau, with me. Call in for more back up. Officer Sherwin, don’t you have desk duties to perform?” he gave Ollie a pointed look who swore and turned away. He led Lars out of the precinct and pointed to his cruiser. Lars began speaking in a rapid voice as he climbed in and gunned the engine.

“There’s an entrance to the cabin by the highway. You can only get halfway down the trail at this time of year. Tanner would have brought them that way because it takes longer, so that I could get help. There’s another trail by his Gram’s house that leads to the rear of the cabin, but it’s a little over a mile to hike in.”

“Easy man. When we get there, you stay in the car. Understood? We’ll find out what’s going on at the cabin, but we don’t need civilians getting hurt.”

Lars wanted to argue with him. This was Tanner he was talking about. But this wasn’t the movies and the sight of the guns had made him want to wet himself, so he nodded as they pulled off the highway. The ground was bumpy with frost heaves and became more treacherous as they bounced along. Lars chewed his lip as his gaze scanned the area. Sure enough, as they rounded the corner on the dirt road, there was a black, nondescript SUV with Florida license plates.

Officer Kent parked the car and radioed in the plate numbers. They came back in association with Lafayette’s name and so did Lafayette’s rap sheet. Lars tugged at his collar as two more cruisers pulled in behind Officer Kent’s. He turned to Lars and told him to wait there one more time, and the officers moved down the trail the last half mile on foot.

It was agony for Lars to remain in the cruiser. He tugged at his collar and drummed his fingers on his thighs. He looked around the cruiser, trying to distract himself by observing the inside He had never been in one before and he wondered at all the gadgets. A few minutes later he broke out into a cold sweat when he heard the unmistakable sound of shots being fired. One, two, three, four sounded out, echoing through the trees. It was as if the whole forest went on red alert and froze. If there were any deer present, Lars wondered if they froze in shock with muscle memory as they seized up in sheer terror from the reactions of hunting season. It wasn’t hunting season of course, but Lars felt like a sitting duck nonetheless.

He thought he could hear his own heart beat thumping in his chest as he waited. The silence after the shots was deafening, until he almost couldn’t take it anymore. He desperately wanted to bail out of the cruiser and go and see if Tanner was alright, but he had promised Officer Kent he would remain there. After a few moments he swore when he saw an officer run up the path toward him. He was about to get out and ask what was going on, but he ran past him and climbed into his own cruiser. Lars wasn’t sure what was happening, but he then got back out of his cruiser and ran back down the path towards the cabin.

Lars waited another few minutes in agony, not knowing what was happening. The feeling of dread overwhelmed him when he heard the unmistakable sounds of sirens coming from the highway behind him. He felt cold terror, wondering if Tanner had been one of the ones to get shot, and he waited as he saw the red, blue and white lights flashing behind him, pull up as close as possible to the parked cruisers. The officer must have radioed for back up and emergency aid. The men got out of the ambulance, along with some more officers who had come with them. A fire truck brought up the rear. Whenever 911 rescue aid was dispatched in Maine, a fire brigade was dispatched to the scene just in case.

Lars felt the pins and needles of oblivion pricking at his consciousness as the panic began ot mount in his mind. One of the officers stopped to ask who he was and what he was doing. He numbly told him, and the officer nodded, then slapped the top of the car and told him to continue waiting there. Lars couldn’t remember the exact conversation, it felt so automatic. All he could think was that this was the third time Tanner had left him.

He vaguely associated the panic attack and subsequent need to put his head between his legs and breath, with the fact that they only occurred because of Tanner. One of the rescue paramedics stopped to ask if he was ok, and seeing him in his current state, took to administering help on his behalf, despite Lars being stuck in his own brain and unable to scream at him to go and check on Tanner.

A flurry of activity happened. Officers went in and out of the trial heading to the cabin. At some point Lars thought he spotted a news channel van behind them all, but an officer was sent to ward them off from coming any closer. Lars sat in the cruiser with his door open and the paramedics checking on him periodically as they came and went.

What had happened down there? Lars wondered. Where was Tanner and why hadn’t he come up the path yet? He felt his blood run cold when the paramedics wheeled the gurneys through the trail of mud towards the ambulances and first came one body bag, and then another.

He hadn’t seen the Major Crimes Unit, the equivalent of C.S.I. in Maine go by, but that didn’t mean anything. He was just beginning to fully feel the effects of shock, as his brain tried to convince himself that one of the men in the body bags had been Tanner, when it took him a minute to process the fact that the man walking up the trail next to Officer Kent, was Tanner himself.

Lars didn’t remember getting out of the cruiser or running down the path. He vaguely remembered registering that Tanner was beat up pretty badly, but he did know he didn’t care who saw them. He jumped at Tanner who also wrapped him in a hug. He kissed him in front of everyone and apologized when he noticed Tanner wince because of his busted lip. He could see the tell-tale signs of a black eye forming around his left eye, and he searched the rest of Tanner, looking for other injuries, despite him being fully clothed.

“I’m ok, I’m alright.” Tanner told him as he felt the tears slip down his cheeks. Officer Kent stepped away to begin filling out reports and speaking with Chief Bennington as the two were reunited. No one seemed to care that they were openly displaying affection, which was just fine for Lars.

“What happened? Your lip and eye? I tried to get them here in time. Ollie wouldn’t help. I had to find Officer Kent. What did they do?” He knew he was babbling and he could feel Tanner rubbing his back.

“It doesn’t matter. They’re gone. They aren’t coming back for me. It’s ok.” He crooned in Lars’ ear. Lars felt like all the pent-up emotions he had been feeling for the last ten years came crashing down and finally oozing out of him with his hot tears.

“You can’t leave again. Understand?” He cried. “I can’t stand to lose you again. I’m not ready to let you go yet.”

Tanner continued to hug him and hold him while he got out everything he had needed to but had been denied.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He reassured him, and Lars believed him after a while.

Reality slowly came back into focus and Lars turned crimson as he realized they had more than a dozen witnesses. Tanner didn’t seem to care though. He hugged Lars around the waist and they walked toward the cruisers where Officer Kent was waiting for them.

It took hours and they had to give statements several times. Chief Bennington questioned Lars personally about Ollie, but if he felt the same as Ollie about he and Tanner’s relationship, he didn’t say anything despite their hand holding in front of everyone.

Lars was exhausted by the time they were done, and he could only imagine how Tanner felt. The paramedics tried to urge Tanner to go to the hospital, but he assured them it was only a few bruises and he would rather just go home. He promised to follow up with his doctor the next day and since he had to pick up Gram the next morning, he was sure there were enough worried people around him in case anything was wrong, he would get the help he needed.

“That’s the trouble with small towns.” He told Lars quietly as they walked up the driveway at Gram’s house an hour later. “Everyone is so keen on what everyone else is up to and doing, it doesn’t help with the privacy some people enjoy.”

Lars smiled but didn’t for an instant regret telling everyone he could that Tanner had been taken by the men. He asked him about them.

“Who are they? They worked for Jacques.” It was a statement, the last, not that it needed to be said but he did anyway.

“Yeah, that they did. They were a couple of his lower thugs. Most of his close right hand men were arrested with him, but he must still be pulling some strings from prison to get them to come all the way up here.”

“Do you think he will send more?” Lars asked anxiously.

“No, I put in a call down at the cabin to my old supervisor. He’s going to follow up on Florida’s end to restrict who Jacques is allowed to have contact with at the prison. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about it much.”

Lars bit his lip, unsure if he was right or not, but decided to trust his judgement. He was just a bartender and knew little of law enforcement, he would have to go with what Tanner said.

“Does Gram know yet?” He asked, worried about the condition of her heart. Tanner groaned.

“Man, I hope not. Do you have any idea how many brownies she would bake if she did? We’d be fat in a week.”

Lars laughed at the humor. He had been serious, but in true Tanner fashion, he had anticipated the need for some humor and a little reprieve from everything they had been through.

“You seemed to have brought a lot of excitement with you back from Florida.” He joked. Tanner smiled, a full, grin that made Lars’ heart melt.

“Nah, I brought the excitement with me when I went to Florida. They didn’t know what hit ‘em when a good ole’ Maine boy showed up. Now they’re regretting it and trying to force the excitement back up here, but I’m honestly content with living the rest of it out with some peace and quiet. It seems like we’ve had a decade of excitement the last few weeks. I think we could use a vacation from it.”

Lars laughed again, happy to see his joking, mischievous friend again. But he was even more grateful that his friend had grown and matured into the lover he was now. Lars took the cover off of the hot tub on the back porch. The air was cool and the wind was blowing a little, which made for the work to be chilling, but once the hot tub was on and the men sank into it, they both groaned with pleasure.

The wind was blocked out by the warm bubbles and they let their heads fall back as they relaxed the tension and ache from their muscles. Lars hated the sight of the bruises on Tanner’s body. The ones from the spruce trees had begun to fade, only to be replaced by the ones from the fists of Jean-Paul and Lafayette. He could only pray that once those faded, there wouldn’t be any more to replace them.

Lars waded over to where Tanner was sitting, letting the wind cool his heated skin, and then enjoying the prickle of heat as it laced up his body when he sank back down into the water. He pulled Tanner onto his lap and he went willingly, and leaned his head against his chest.

They were both naked, so it didn’t take much for Lars to slip inside him in this position, but it wasn’t frantic. It was just the need to feel himself inside his lover and be grounded in the fact that, in this position, he wasn’t going anywhere. He couldn’t. Tanner sensed this because he turned his head and looked up saying,

“I’m not leaving. I get it, what the break down in the woods was. I want you to know, I’m not leaving again. It doesn’t matter what happens from now on. I am not going anywhere.”

Lars nodded, unable to speak past the lump in his throat. He was grateful Tanner said the words out loud, and they caused him to quake under him as he orgasmed and then they sat blissfully drifting in the water in each others arms.

It was a long time before they got out of the hot tub and went up to bed. Lars wondered how they would make arrangements from now on. He still had his house but he knew Tanner wouldn’t leave Gram now, so they would have to bring in a bigger bed, because he was sure Gram wouldn’t mind him moving in, but he couldn’t bear the thought of being another night away from Tanner.

As it turned out the next day when he rode with Tanner to pick up Gram, he was absolutely correct. She cried and cursed at them when they walked in and they got equally as annoyed that she was getting herself all worked up.

“You boys are probably going to be the death of this old lady!” She shouted at them. Lars had visions of when they were kids and she used to chase them with the broom. They were always just out of reach, but he was sure if she had one, she would be chasing them now.

“Probably Gram, but not before you scare the pants off of Lars and I.” Tanner griped.

“Oh, boys!” She exclaimed, pulling them both into a hug. When they pulled back, it was Tanner who said,

“Gram, ah, there’s something we’ve been meaning to tell you. We, um…”

“Tanner, dear. I was born, but not yesterday.” She patted his cheek, looking between he and Lars. Lars blushed, and she did the same gesture to him which made him blush some more. “It’s about time.” She finished.

“Ok, Gram. ‘Cause Lars and I are going to take care of you now, ok?” he asked. She nodded, tearing up herself, despite Lars knowing she was going to feed them probably until the point of explosion. It seemed to be a grandmother thing in Maine, and she would relish being in the middle of their business, but Lars didn’t mind, they were all family.

When they left the hospital, they were greeted by Chief Bennington who looked sheepish.

“Ah, can I have a word with you boys?” He asked. Shirley raised an eyebrow and said,

“Whatever it is you have to say to my boys, Earl, can be said right here.”

Chief Bennington pulled himself up to his full height, like he was going to tell her who was in charge. He was, after all, the chief, and she was just a civilian, but he deflated under her withering stare.

“I wanted to talk to you about Ollie.” He finally said. Lars didn’t say anything. He had a feeling he knew where this was headed, but he wasn’t sure what to do about it. “Now, I know Ollie has said and done some, questionable things.”

“You mean hateful, don’t you Earl?” Gram said sweetly. Tanner said nothing but watched the Chief dig his own grave with a bemused expression.

“Well now, see here, Shirley. Everyone’s got a right to an opinion. Don’t mean Ollie’s right, but we can’t tell him how to think.”

“You’re absolutely right, Earl.” She said just as evenly and before he knew it, the conversation had turned on its side and he found himself hearing Gram out. “You see, my boys have turned their cheek to the taunts and jibes from Ollie long enough. They’ve not complained about the harassment and unprofessionalism for a long while now. But the other day, that professionalism was completely called into question when your officer, let his opinion, something you can’t control, rule his prejudices and act in a way that was unsafe for the public. Do you see what I’m getting at Earl?” Shirley demanded.

Chief Bennington nodded, looking small and tiny under her tirade.

“The thing is, there’s a board meeting tonight, and I plan to raise the motion to ask for your dismissal because you as a chief, can’t control your man’s prejudices and opinions. Maybe it was one thing for him to have them when they didn’t impede public safety, it was another thing to let him abuse the emergency system here in this town.”

“Shirley, you can’t mean…” Chief Bennington started.

“Oh yes Earl Bennington, that’s exactly what I mean.” She told him.

“Well damn woman.” He finally muttered. “He was on administrative watch, but I guess I’ll have to let him go.”

“I think, that will be in the best interests of the precinct, this town and your position Earl.” Shirley countered. He nodded, understanding her. She would wait by the phone until he called to say he had followed through with administrative procedure and fired Ollie. Lars thought it was pushing the line of blackmail, but he knew that with the sway in this town, Shirley would get her way for the best of the people eventually. Earl was an ok guy, Lars didn’t want to see him lose his position before he could retire, he just had to be open to new aged thinking if he watned to spend the last few years in it. He was a family man, and he knew not to mess with Shirley Mason’s family, to which, Lars was grateful to be a part of.

Once he and Tanner had Gram settled at home, Tanner asked,

“Will you go for a walk with me?” Lars nodded and linked hands with him. They grabbed Sparkle, so she would give Gram a rest and then headed out the back door. “I need to see it and know it’s still our place.” Tanner said softly.

It took Lars a moment to figure out what he was talking about but then realized as they made their way down the back trail. Sparkle bounded in the mud and snow in front of them and they walked slowly. He would continue to be the rock for Tanner, as Tanner was the strength for so many people being a member of the coast guard.

Lars felt as if he too needed to see where the incident had occurred. He wondered what they might find there. The police had only taken evidence and testimonies, he doubted crime scene clean up had been there yet. He wondered if this was the kind of thing they would bother coming out for, as technically the cabin wasn’t an official residence.

As they approached the rear of the cabin, Tanner seemed to slow his pace even further, but Lars didn’t push him. He could feel the apprehension in the air, he felt it too. He could only imagine what Tanner must be feeling, as when he was last here, he had been beaten and close to being murdered at the request of his former undercover target. Lars really hoped that it wouldn’t ruin this place for them though.

“Do you want me to go in and try to straighten out or clean up anything?” He asked softly. It seemed to startle Tanner out of his inner turmoil.

“No, let’s go in together ok?” He asked.

Lars smiled and squeezed his hand. “Whatever’s in there, we will take care of it together, just like we did when we first came back.”

Tanner smiled back, seeming to appreciate this response. When they rounded the corner to the cabin, Lars noticed the scuff marks from the boots of the police, emergency personnel, Tanner, possibly even the perpetrators, but what he wasn’t prepared for, was the crimson snow on the ground just outside the door. He hurried up to it, kicking it away with his boot for Tanner, but Tanner followed him and refused to let go of his hand.

“I know it’s there, Lars. It will be ok, it’s not mine.” He said. Somehow, despite the macabre nature of the sight, this made Lars feel marginally better.

He peered in the doorway when he reached with shaking fingers and opened it slowly, waiting in anticipation for what they might see. The sight that greeted him was what was to be expected. The few pieces of furniture that were there had been upturned, save the bed, and one of the kitchen chairs was in the middle of the room.

Lars walked over to it when he saw Tanner looking at it, white faced. He grabbed the chair and dragged it back to the table, trying to ignore the darker droplet stains underneath it. He placed it where it should be in the kitchenette, then righted the table which had bullet holes in it, and placed the other chair next to it. He stood back a moment then shook his head, dragging each bit of furniture out to the fire pit. They would just have to get a new table and chairs. He didn’t want to leave Tanner standing alone for too long, so he moved quickly.

When he got back in the cabin, he grabbed a bucket from the kitchenette, and scooped up some clean snow and grabbed the dish soap from the kitchen. He scrubbed away at the spots, the ones under the chair, and the other ones behind where one of the men must have tried to take cover behind the kitchen table. The last remaining spots were next to the door. It wasn’t perfect, and crime scene clean up would have to do a better job, but at least Tanner didn’t have to look at them anymore.

Once he was done, he added the bucket to the pile of discarded items outside and went back in, kneeling in front of Tanner who was sitting on the bed.

“How are you feeling?” He asked him softly. He knew it must be hard. He felt as if the place had been, perverted somehow. He hoped it wasn’t completely ruined for Tanner, and he knew it was going to take a while for that feeling to go away.

“I think, I think it will be ok.” Tanner finally said, and Lars blew out a breath. He was hoping he would say that, he really wanted he and Tanner to be able to move on past all of the crap they had been through to find one another again.

Lars leaned up, cupping Tanner’s face in his palms, kissing him softly and reminding him that they were in control of this place. What had happened, was done and they were taking back the place that felt like home to them. But Lars knew, deep down, that the real place that felt like home, was in Tanner’s arms, and he knew Tanner felt the same way when he began kissing him back, more passionately, more deeply. Lars melted into his embrace as he let go of the vestiges of anger, hate and hurt that they had been denied the last decade. He knew they had to go through some sort of trials and tribulations before they could find true happiness, and he also knew that he would never have been able to survive it all if he hadn’t done it with his best friend. Lars looked deep into Tanner’s eyes and smiled. He was eternally grateful to have his best friend turned lover, and he was at peace knowing that they would remain best friends still, from then on.