When Both Our Cars Collide (Frerard)

28: So give me all you've got

I could have sat there with Frank in my arms for ages and never gotten bored, but our time together was interrupted, as I knew it soon would be, but instead of a doctor like I had expected, a police offer entered the room with a grim look on his face.

Suddenly I remembered the less than ideal situation Frank had gotten himself into; I had been so worried about his health, that I had completely forgotten that he had been found with a decent amount of drugs in his possession.

"Which one of you is Mr. Iero?"

I heard Frank sigh when the police offer botched his name, and I had to suppress a giggle.

"That's me," Frank spoke up, and I removed my arms from around him reluctantly.

"I'm Officer Ross, I just need to speak with you for a second - if that is okay?"

This officer seemed much nicer than the initial one who had found the drugs in the first place, and I was crossing my fingers that he would be lenient with Frank.

"Yeah - that's fine."

I could feel Frank tense up next to me, so I slipped my hand into his underneath the thin sheet.

"Well, as I'm sure you know, we found drugs in the car that you were driving. Luckily you were just under the amount where we would have to assume you were intending to distribute them, but I have to ask - were you planning on selling them?"

"No sir, they were mine; I wasn't sure how long I would be away from home, so I took more with me than I usually would." Frank's face was honest and open as he replied, and I hoped Officer Ross believed him.

"Okay good, then this will go a lot easier. Basically the max fine for something like this is up to one thousand dollars and six months of jail time, but with your situation, and the fact that you weren't caught selling, we have lessened the sentence considerably. All you are looking at is a five hundred dollar fine, and you will be on probation for six months - instead of in jail, but this means you have to get clean; if you fail even one drug test, you will have to serve the rest of your sentence in jail."

"I understand, I was planning on quitting everything anyway...but I don't have any way to pay the fine until I get a job. How long do I have to scrounge up the money?" Frank's face fell, and I wanted to soothe the lines of worry away forever.

"Don't worry about the fine Frankie, I'll cover it," I spoke up. There was no way I was letting Frank get in trouble just because of something as superfluous as money, luckily I had a pretty well stocked savings fund, so this wouldn't set me back far at all.

"Gerard no! I can't let you do that for me, you have already done enough."

"Don't even try to argue with me, because my mind is made up; if it really bugs you so much, you can pay me back eventually, but I don't want you throwing yourself into a job right now just to get the money, you need to heal first." I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly, staring Frank down until he finally dropped his eyes.

"Fine...but I am paying you back," Frank grumbled sullenly.

"Okay - well if that's settled, then all you have to do is show up at the courthouse on the twenty first, they will assign you your probation officer, and you can pay your fine while you are there. Just be careful okay? I don't want to see you again anytime soon."

Officer Ross stood up, and I let out a sigh of relief at how well the meeting had gone.

"Thank you, and I will," Frank promised.

Frank sagged against me as soon as the door closed, and I put my arms back around his slim waist.

"Well that went better than I hoped." I smiled down at Frank, but instead of being happy like I had expected, he was almost on the verge of tears again.