Customer Satisfaction [COMPLETE]

Doing Something Rash

"I'm going to kill him." Kate whispered late that night, staring coldly into the plate of creamed spinach Luke had slid before her.

They had burst into the hotel, anxious and--in Kate's part--completely horrified by the revelations about their childhood, only to find that Will was, indeed, missing. Until they had walked into his apartment to witness the hauntingly empty space and dialed hundreds of unanswered calls, Kate had hoped that this was all a horrible joke on David's part.

Hours of searching everywhere to no avail had given way to the jarring realization that their worst fears had been realized. A trip to the Police Station and rigorous interrogation later, the horrific blinding panic that had taken hold of her initially had dissolved into a queer, cold rage. It made her feel oddly disconnected from reality as she was consumed with thoughts. Thoughts compiling what was happening...and what she would do about it.

She was on the verge of losing her brother once more. Fact.

This time, she knew the reason. Another fact.

Knowing the reason, she knew who was at fault. Ergo, this time...

"I'm going to kill anyone who harms Will."

"You need strength before you can do anything." Luke murmured, and only because he had gone through the effort of making dinner even though they were both fatigued, she forcibly swallowed a few bites, not tasting anything.

She vaguely registered him tugging her into the bath, and he stopped in front of the shower, silently turning it on and testing the temperature before looking at her expectantly. She gazed back him blankly, not really seeing him. After a few moments, he sighed, and she found herself pulled into a warm spray, her clothes tugged off gently. It didn't occur to her to marvel at how unaffected she was right then to have Luke scrub her down for the first time, and she stared over his shoulder, barely feeling his no nonsense motions over her skin.

He had perched her on the edge of the bathtub and was toweling her down when she spoke up again. "You don't think Will is afraid, do you?"

"No." Luke murmured dispassionately. He lowered himself on his knees in front of her, pulling her foot on a towel on his lap, "Will's tough. Had to be, after all the shit he's been through."

She felt a flicker outrage then, a bright spark slanting through ice, "He's only a human, of course he gets scared. Why aren't you more worried?"

"I am worried." Luke said calmly.

"No, you're not!"

He pulled her other foot, wiping the toes one by one with concentration. Her throat choked with furious tears when he didn't answer, and she jerked her foot away. "My brother has been kidnapped, and you're--you--"

"He's been my closest companion nearly my whole life, Kate. I'm so worried I could puke."

She glared at him, her vision swimming through tears, "You can't mean it. You have been cold and silent the whole day! You barely even l-look bothered."

"Because..."

"Because what?!"

He tugged her up, reaching for a clean shirt of his he had laid out for her. She resisted when he tried to pull it over her arms, glaring furiously. He sighed.

"I can't go in a tearing rage, alright, Kate? Where do you think it would have got us, all those years while Will was in jail and we were fighting his case--and after that when he was out and nearly suicidal?"

She stared at him, shivering in shock and despair as he pulled his shirt over her limp arms.

"I'll get him back, alright?" he whispered near her ear as he tugged the shirt close, "I promise."