**AUTHOR’S NOTE: I need to give credit where credit is due – to JD! ALL of the reasoning Laura uses during her discussion with Fenton came directly from JD, who was gracious enough to let me steal them pretty much word for word!  THANK YOU, MY FRIEND!! J*

*****

Fenton closed the front door and leaned heavily against it.  Staring at the ceiling, the reality of what he had just agreed to do washed over him.  Suddenly he wasn’t so sure he had made the right decision.  Yes, Jeff’s son was missing but what about the welfare of his own son?  Shouldn’t that come first?

‘How am I going to explain this to Joe?  Will he understand why I said yes?  Will he even listen to me?  What if I’m asking too much of him? He’s finally happy again…’ Fenton thought, heartsick at the possibility of bringing an abrupt end to that short-lived happiness.

“Damn it,” he grumbled, furious that, once again, Joe’s world was about to be turned upside down by something that was beyond his control.

A little voice in his head came out of nowhere – and sent a chill down his spine. ‘Don’t tell him.’

‘I have to tell him,’ Fenton silently replied.

‘No you don’t,’ the voice insisted. ‘You’ve accepted cases before that he knew nothing about.’

‘That was different.  The client isn’t the Federal government and I haven’t been sworn to secrecy,’  Fenton continued arguing with himself.

‘Joe doesn’t know that,’ the voice prodded him. ‘And you wouldn’t really be lying to him – just not sharing all the details.’

‘It’s a lie of omission,’ Fenton insisted.

‘It’s for his own good!’

‘It doesn’t feel right!’

‘Fine. Tell him. And when he loses it – again! – and you have to visit him in that mental hospital – again! – just remember you could have prevented it by keeping your mouth shut,’ the voice seemed to sneer at him. ‘But don’t worry.  You’ll keep your standing as one of the world’s best detectives…even if you are a lousy father.’

“Shut up,” Fenton muttered aloud, tuning out the little voice as he went in search of his wife.

Returning to the living room Fenton saw Laura hanging up the phone, disappointment etched on her face.  He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest.

“Joe’s not home,” he said, smiling.  Laura jumped, apparently startled and turned towards him, flushing slightly.  “He and Frank went to the hockey game.  He won’t be home for at least an hour.

“If it’s any consolation, I had the exact same thought,” Fenton confided seeing his wife’s embarrassment.  And he had; now feeling like the lousy father the little voice insisted he was, he’d suddenly and inexplicably become obsessed with hearing Joe’s voice, listening to his laugh, secure in the knowledge his son was safe.

“Well, at least you realized how absurd it was before you acted on it,” Laura mumbled.

“Not really,” Fenton stepped forward and enveloped her in a hug.  “You just beat me to the phone,” he chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “Come on upstairs and keep me company while I pack.”

“Are you going to call and tell him about Jeff or wait till the morning so you can tell him face to face?” Laura asked as they entered the master bedroom.

Fenton moved to the closet without answering and pulled out a carry-on suitcase.  Placing it on the luggage rack in the corner of the room, he unzipped it and flipped it open. 

“Fenton?  Are you going to call him later?”  Laura asked again. When Fenton remained silent and began to turn away, she grabbed his arm. 

Now trapped, Fenton had no choice to but to look his wife in the eyes and he didn’t like what he saw.  Anger flirting with disapproval, as if she had been privy to the conversation Fenton just had with his inner Devil’s Advocate.

“No,” he said simply, tugging his arm out of her grasp and retreating into the walk-in closet.

“So you’re going to tell him tomorrow morning? In person? Before you leave for the airport?” her voice followed him into the small room.

‘She wasn’t there with him when he remembered.  She didn’t have to hold him when he broke down and cried,’ the little voice returned, taunting him. ‘But hey, don’t listen to me.  Go ahead; tell him everything.  Who cares if it pushes him over the edge – again.  He’s a tough kid.  He’ll bounce back…maybe…’

Now confused and no longer sure what was the right thing to do, Fenton felt as if he were being pulled in two different directions.  ‘Joe is a tough kid… look at everything he bounced back from last year.  But everyone has their limit.  What if this really does push him over the edge? How can I take that risk?’

Emerging from the closet empty-handed, Fenton saw his wife looking at him, hands on her hips.  “Well?”

The words were out of his mouth before Fenton even realized he had spoken. “I’m not going to tell him,” he blurted out, brushing past Laura. 

Glancing at the empty suitcase and then his empty hands, Fenton cursed silently.  Turning around, he saw Laura staring at him with her mouth open slightly, momentarily shocked into silence.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Fenton mumbled, flushing in embarrassment.

“That’s it?  You’re just going to up and leave without telling him anything?”  Laura responded angrily.

“I’ll tell him and Frank I’ve accepted a new case that I’ll be working alone.  They won’t think twice about it,” Fenton tried to defend the decision he still wasn’t comfortable with.  “We’ve all done it before.”

“So that’s it?  We’re not even going to discuss this?” Laura asked, dumbfounded at her husband’s stubbornness.

“The decision has been made, Laura. It’s my case, my decision,” Fenton said lamely, trying to get past his wife and out of the line of fire.

“Well Joe is OUR son,” Laura reminded him in a tone he rarely heard directed at him – low and deadly.  “And we are going to discuss this and come to a mutual decision. So sit down and start talking.”

Knowing defeat when he saw it, Fenton sank down onto the bed wearily.  Seconds later Laura took a seat beside him.

“Now tell me why you think it’s in Joe’s best interests to lie to him about this?” she requested, her voice no longer hostile.

“I’m not lying,” Fenton replied, unconvincingly. “I’m just not telling him all the details.”

“A lie of omission is still a lie,” Laura said softly.  “Joe has given you two second chances already.  If you go through with this he’ll never trust you again.”

Fenton had no reply, knowing she was right. He and Joe had become so close over the past year, and Joe had been more than forgiving – even when Fenton felt he didn’t deserve it.  He had sworn to Joe he’d never lie to him again.  How could he risk the closeness they now shared.

“I know there are times I’ve been hard on you for treating the boys too much as partners and not enough like your children.  This isn’t one of those times, Fenton,” Laura gently rubbed her husband’s back as she spoke.  She seemed to understand Fenton was worried about Joe’s ability to absorb this latest reminder of something he was desperately trying to put behind him.  Yet it was clear she did not agree with him.

“You didn’t see him, Laura,” Fenton said, heartbreaking sadness in his voice. “The night he remembered… I felt so helpless.  My son was in agony and there was nothing I could do to help him.  I don’t want to do that to him again.”  Overcome with memories of that night, Fenton dropped his head into his hands, trying to control his emotions.

“I understand you’re worried about how Joe will react to all this.  So am I.  But you need to give him a little more credit,” Laura advised. “That night he was remembering everything for the first time.  This is different.  Don’t forget he’s been in therapy for a year – and judging by the changes in him lately, I’d say he’s learning how to deal with it and not let it control his every waking moment.”

“But he’s my son!  Isn’t my first responsibility to protect him?  To do what I think is in his best interest?”  Fenton asked, now sounding as if he wanted to be talked out of the decision he’d made.

“Yes, but Joe – and Frank – are adults now.  Level-headed, mature adults.  I think they might resent your assuming they need to be protected from this,”  Laura said gently, making her own assumption that if Fenton wasn’t planning to tell Joe, he wouldn’t be giving Frank any details either.

Fenton looked up, relieved to see compassion had replaced the anger in his wife’s eyes.  He also saw she had more words of wisdom to impart.  “What else?” he asked simply.

“Are you planning to tell Sam about this?  In detail?”

“Of course.  He’s a partner in the agency,” Fenton replied quickly.

“Frank and Joe are your partners, too,” she reminded him. “If you tell Sam, they have a right to know as well.  If for no other reason than safety.  They need to know where you are and what you’re working on in case you run into trouble.”

Fenton automatically smiled with pride.  Ever since Frank and Joe had shown an interest in his work, his secret dream had been that one day they would join the family business, working with him side-by-side as partners.  Sometimes he still found it hard to believe that dream had finally become a reality.

“Plus the boys are in the same age bracket as Kevin.  They may be able to give you a different perspective on things,” Laura shrugged.

Fenton heard a door in the back of his mind opening letting in the voice he’d been trying to ignore all evening. ‘Why are you listening to her?  She doesn’t know-’

‘Shut up. She’s his mother… she knows him a hell of a lot better than you do.’  With that, Fenton slammed the door shut for good.  Feeling an odd sense of relief, Fenton leaned over and kissed his wife softly on the cheek. “Thank you for not letting me make a fool of myself.”

“All in a day’s work,” Laura replied, her eyes twinkling with mischief as Joe’s so often did.  “Now why don’t you go call the boys and let me finish packing for you.”

Fenton thought a moment before replying. “I’ll call them tonight and ask them to come in early tomorrow.  I think this is something they need to hear in person.”  He stood up and walked to the door, stopping abruptly.

“Laura…what if… what if we are asking too much of him?  What if he really can’t deal with this?” Fenton asked, not turning around.

“Then we’ll be there to help him pick up the pieces, just like we always have,” Laura assured him. “But I have a feeling he’s stronger than we’re giving him credit for.”