Chris had no idea why it was so important that he help Adam. There had been bad feelings between the two of them on and off since they met. But lately their relationship had become closer, stronger.

Besides, Chris didn't want anything bad to happen to Adam, and he had a feeling that if Jazz was in danger, Adam would literally die trying to avenge him. He hated to admit it, but he had caught a glimpse of Adam's face when he got off the phone. Adam wouldn't have wanted anyone to see what he considered weakness, but it was there, in his face. The grief, the fear, the utter torment at the thought of anyone hurting his lover.

Chris hailed a taxi. Adam might not want him to come to his rescue, but that was too bad. Chris couldn't do anything else. That's what knights did.

Truth. Beauty. Freedom. And above all, Love.

All right, Chris mused, that last bit was courtesy of one of his favorite movies, Moulin Rouge, but it was true, nevertheless. He didn't remember if he'd ever told Adam how he felt about him, but he was glad that he had an older brother. Especially one like Adam.

He just hoped that he was in time to help him.

Emmy wasted no time in waking the others. Sasha blinked at her, the sleepiness disappearing from his eyes instantly when the redhead told him about the mysterious phone call that Adam had received.

"Chris went after him?"

"Yes." It wasn't like Emmy to sit and wring her hands. Like her father Declan, she was both impatient and ready for action.

Suddenly Faith yelped and clutched a piece of hotel stationery in her hand. Sasha lost no time in racing to her side. "What? What is it, Fee?"

"They went to the police station." Faith looked as if she were about to cry, and Connor wrapped his arms around her protectively. Under normal circumstances, Faith would have shrugged off his public display of affection, but there was nothing normal about the situation. She clung to him, her body shaking slightly with reaction, and Connor buried his nose in her hair. "Ssh, it's going to be okay."

They couldn't get a taxi. It had started to rain, the weather now appropriately dreary, and they were forced to walk to the Metro station. Until they were drenched.

They were strangely silent, each of them preoccupied with their own thoughts and fears. When they reached their stop, they piled out onto the platform with a growing sense of unease.

"We're going to be too late," Faith finally blurted out.

"Stop it, Fee," Emmy snapped. Chris might be Faith's brother, but he was Emmy's lover. The single most beloved thing in her small universe. She wanted help, not more obstacles.

That Emmy had suddenly turned into the unspoken leader of the group was apparent to all of them. That Faith was becoming something of a liability was equally evident.

"Con, maybe you should stay here with her," Emmy said softly, reluctant to command her best friend outright to stay behind.

"No!" Faith cried. "You of all people should understand, Em."

"Then you need to get a hold of yourself, Fee…and now."

Faith nodded and swiped the back of her hand over her face. Crying wouldn't do Chris any good. Or Adam. Or Jazz. She grabbed Connor's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Let's go then."

They strode into the police station like a small army bent on the destruction of a much larger enemy. "Where is he?" Emmy demanded, looking for all the world like an Irish Joan of Arc.

The desk sergeant rolled his eyes. "Not more of you," he groaned. "Jesus, what happened? They let school out early today?"

Faith surged to the front of the group with something more like her characteristic swagger. "We're looking for my brother."

"Your brother? And which one would that be? The fag we locked up this morning for assault? Or his *friend*, the one who won't leave his side since we put him in the holding cell? Or maybe you mean Robin Hood…he's over there beating his head against the wall."

"Chris!"

"Soleil!" Chris looked beaten. He had tried his best, but his powers of persuasion were strangely ineffective here. The police were resistant to his attempts to get Adam and Jazz released.

He gathered her in his arms, a sidelong glance making him aware that his twin sister was there as well. "You came? All of you?"

"I brought them. I thought we could help."

"I don't think anything short of an explosion could move these assholes."

"Chris!" Emmy exclaimed, surprised at his lack of control.

"They won't even let me see them," Chris said, his face alternately reflecting anger and sadness.

"You need to call your father," Emmy said somberly.

"No, I can handle this," Chris protested.

Emmy shook her head. "No, you can't. None of us can. It's like we're…I don't know…invisible or something. They don't see us, Chris. And they can't hear what we're saying."

Sasha patted Chris on the back. "You tried."

"But it wasn't good enough. It should have been, but it wasn't. It fucking wasn't." Chris was inordinately upset by his failure to get his brother and his brother's lover released, but it wasn't his fault.

"I'll call Da," Sasha said quietly.

Chris stared at him for a moment, clearly torn between needing to get his brother and Jazz out of there and not wanting to ask for help from their parents. But common sense won out in the end.

"Do it. Just do it, Sash."

Sasha whipped out his cell phone and dialed. One of the officers protested, "Hey, kid, you can't use that thing in here."

Sasha glared at him, his dark brown eyes solemn and fierce at the same time. "Just watch me."

End