Take Me Out

15 - Rose Colored Glasses

A/N: Final chapter but there is an epilogue as well as an alternative chapter 15 and alternative epilogue!

warnings: graphic depictions murder, lots of angst

***

By the time you and Tom dry off, you're so exhausted you're falling asleep on his shoulder as he helps you dress.

"We should find a hotel to stay at for the night," Tom suggests, helping you into the car.

"Can we just sleep here, Holland?" You whine, buckling your seatbelt as Tom turns the car on.

"No, because we might get killed by an ax murderer or something," Tom murmurs, moving his hand to rest on top of yours.

"An ax murderer? Oooo, what a way to go," you tease.

"Shhh, rest your eyes, I'll find us a nice hotel," Tom says and before you could respond, you find yourself drifting to sleep.

By the time Tom pulls into a hotel parking lot, you're fast asleep, so he carries you inside.

For a moment, he thinks the two of you could run away together, screw Idaho, screw going back to killing people to right some wrongs in the world.

That is, until he starts to carry you inside and as you snuggle closer into his arms, he gets a text message alert.

When he checks his phone he sees that it's an Amber Alert. Normally Tom ignores them, knows that eventually the police and FBI will eventually catch whoever took the kid.

But as he clicks on the picture of the child who was taken, his heart nearly falls out of his chest.

The kid looks just like Harry, a younger version of him, red curly hair and a silly smile, one that Harry would get every time they passed a puppy walking with its owner.

He doesn't think twice before turning around and buckling you back into the car. You stay sound asleep on the ride back to Idaho, Tom carries you into a small motel right outside the town, only two away from yours, where the young boy went missing.

He wakes you up after placing you on the stiff mattress.

"What's up? What's wrong?" You ask, instinctively resting one hand on your stomach and hoping you didn't give anything away with your movement.

"There's an Amber Alert, this kid, James Hugh, he was abducted a block away-,"

"Stop! Tom, where are we?"

"Like fifteen minutes from home, anyway, he was abducted in a grocery store parking lot right down the road-,"

"Tom," you say sharply, sitting up and resting a hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at you.

"What?" Tom says, finally looking you in the eye.

"This isn't what I meant when I said I wanted you to show me you care, show me you aren't like Jake or anyone else," you look down, dropping your hand to his shoulder.

"But, come on, we could find out what happened to the kid-,"

"Tom, we aren't detectives, this isn't an episode of Scooby Doo, we won't capture a monster and find out he's an ordinary man after all."

"Y/N! Come on! Are you seriously going to sit here and not help this kid? I mean, you and I both know the police are completely useless!" Tom walks away, starting to pace as you roll your eyes.

"Tom, this isn't, this is spur of the moment, I don't do this, I need careful planning and-, this is work for the police, Tom. Have you ever tried chasing after a kidnapper? Someone in the midst of probably really trying to hurt a child? The risk is too high, I'm not going to do it."