[closed: davin, dated for 5/16]

[doublethepain]

It's with a promise that he won't let anyone do any 'souping up' of the Jetta that Spencer manages to sneak a kiss to Joel's cheek before laughing his way out of Crossroads. His husband had balked at the idea that his car might need any sort of tuning he hasn't been able to do on his own in the years he's owned it, but Spencer had gently reminded him that Davin is the actual expert when it comes to cars so it's not as if their friend's offer to look it over could possibly hurt. Besides, it wouldn't do to find the car in need of some dire fix the day they're due to take the baby home, so to Oceanside he will go.

The car does, as Joel always says, run impressively smoothly for as old as it is, and Spencer arrives at the auto repair shop without so much as a squeaky window just before noon. He smiles through the windshield when Davin waves him into one of the carports, and he notes that there doesn't seem to be much activity going on for a Saturday afternoon as he steps out of the car with an awkward wave.

"Thank you again," he says, which possibly isn't best greeting he could have mustered up, but the words had been at the tip of his tongue all the same. He still hasn't been able to get past just how many people had shown up for the baby shower and left so many gifts. He knows that neither he nor Joel had expected such an extravagant outpouring of support at a party they'd been resistant to from the beginning but as it turns out, he'll be worrying about carpal tunnel very soon with all the thank you notes he'll be working on in the next few weeks preceding the baby's birth.

"Oh," he adds, rolling his eyes fondly, "my husband says the same and also that he doesn't want me to bring the car home with any fancy modification so if you could refrain from painting flames on the sides, it would be greatly appreciated."

Comments

[davin]

"Aw damn. I guess I'll put away the hella sick spoiler an' spinnin' rims I ordered," Davin replies sarcastically, rolling his eyes in fond exasperation. "It's just a tune up. He can unclench."

He wipes his hands on a clean rag and then nods at Jason and Auryn as they head out for the night. "I'm tryin' this new thing where we're by appointment only on Saturdays afternoons. Keeps things from gettin' too insane an' actually gives me time t'do shit on Saturday nights, so it's workin' out."

Davin is finally getting used to just how successfully the shop is running under his leadership. If there's one thing he's confident in, it's his abilities as a mechanic. He's the most popular and capable mechanic in the city, and there's nothing he's more proud of. It may not be much, but he worked hard for it, and it makes him happy.

"You're my last one for today," Davin tells him, reaching out to snag the keys to the Jetta. He leans in to start it and pops the hood, coming around to get a look at everything as it runs. "To Joel's credit, this beast is in great shape. I'll just give it a good inspection an' a thorough high mileage tune up an' it should be good t'go, unless I find anythin'. Do ya wanna hang out while I do it, or come back? I have a decent coffee maker in my office, if ya wanna grab a cup."

[doublethepain]

Spencer arches a brow, toying for just a split second with turning Davin's teasing about unclenching into something else entirely but the urge to do so disappears faster than he can stop to actually consider it further. Davin is a friend, yes, but Spencer is never going to be the type to say such horribly lewd things like that to anyone except his husband, which reminds him that he ought to pick up a box of popsicles on his way back home with the car later on because he know exactly what kind of reaction he can get out of Joel with that in his arsenal. Especially with a look of wide-eyed innocence.

"Um." He clears his throat, running a hand through his hair as he feels his cheeks flush, and he hates that he tends to be so transparent when he's embarrassed about something, but it's not something he can really help so he ducks his head in an effort to hide it, toeing at the concrete. "Coffee, right. That sounds good, actually, can I make you a cup?"

Spencer barely waits for an answer, turning immediately on his heels to head for the office, and he's sure that Davin has noticed his odd behavior but Spencer can only hope that he'll chalk it up to typical awkwardness rather than anything else. Once he reaches the office and sets the coffee to brewing, he takes the private moment to reach for his pocket and send a text to Joel--

(It's alarmingly hot today, isn't it? Hope you're not making a disaster zone out of the store because I'm bringing popsicles home after I'm done here so behave, and you'll get a treat.)

--before laughing softly to himself and tucking the phone back in his pocket. It doesn't take long before he has two cups ready, remembering exactly how Davin had taken his the last time they'd shared a cup together at the store, and brings them back out to the port looking much less red and flustered than he had before he'd disappeared.

"Still holding up to standards?" he asks, leaning against the back door as he watches Davin work. "It's a good thing I have a friend who's a mechanic because I have no idea how these things work, anyone else could have ripped me off instantly."

[davin]

Davin has a very dirty mind. Anyone who knows him is aware of this, and he's not exactly ashamed of sharing it. When Spencer goes all awkward and pink, Davin thinks back on what he said and gives Spencer a knowing, very amused grin as he rushes off to make coffee. While he's making his way back over, Davin reaches out and calls a wrench from his toolbox. It flies through the air and lands neatly in his palm, and he uses it to point at Spencer before bringing it up to tap at his own temple.

"Ya filthy animal," Davin says with a teasing wink, laughing and reaching out to take the coffee with a grateful nod. He blows gently on the surface and takes a small sip before setting it down on the workbench. He twirls the wrench in his hand and then looks over at Spencer with a straight face. "Who says I'm not gonna rip ya off?"

After a moment he grins and sends out a nudge of magic to turn the key in the ignition, cutting off the engine so he can reach inside. "But yeah, it looks good. I'm seein' some belts that can be replaced. She runs good but I'll have her purrin'. I think even your grumpy husband will be impressed."

[doublethepain]

Spencer lets out a defensive huff before settling back into silence because it's not as if this is something he can really win. Davin had seen right through him and there's no defense, so Spencer just wrinkles his nose and takes a long sip of his coffee in order to avoid having to address it at all. What gets a small smirk out of his is the way Davin so openly uses his powers, reaching out for the wrench as it floats to him from its place in the toolbox, and Spencer gives a slight shake of his head.

"You know, you could just move the toolbox closer to you," he teases, smile widening. The actual truth of it is that he isn't used to seeing such casual displays of magic. The town is full of witches, but Spencer's witch had spent so many years trying to hide that part of himself from others that he thinks that's kind of just become ingrained in his husband. Then again, Joel's powers don't involve being able to call things out of mid-air, and he doesn't have the firm grasp on his premonitions he wants quite yet so Spencer supposes it's different for everyone.

He's reminded of the woman he'd seen on the boardwalk, the one who'd been uncontrollably shooting sparks from her hands--one of which had hit him, and the burn has healed much faster than normal because of the salves Joel had applied to it but still, it's painful if he moves too much or too quickly--and he wonders if that had ever been a problem for Davin. If his magic has ever given him as much trouble as it seems to give so many other witches in this town.

Just as he's opening his mouth to ask as much, though, another car comes pulling up to the garage, and Spencer squints against the sun to try to make out who it is through the windshield. "I thought you said I was the last one?" he asks, glancing back at Davin curiously. "Maybe one of your employees forgot to pencil this one in."

[davin]

Davin doesn't always use his magic so casually in public, but when he's around people he trusts he doesn't think much about putting it on display. It's still mostly under wraps at work. Jason and Auryn know that he's a witch, but Cam and Henry don't and Davin intends to keep it that way. He doesn't want everyone knowing he's a witch, especially his clients, but Spencer is different. Spencer is a friend with a witch of his own at home, so Davin doesn't think twice about being himself.

"I could, but what's the fun in that? If I had big muscles, would I not lift heavy things?" He laughs, and then just to be an ass, he pulls the entire toolbox towards him. It rolls over on squeaky wheels and Davin grins at Spencer over his shoulder. He stops both the magic and the grinning when he hears the car and frowns thoughtfully, straightening up at squinting at the car that pulls up. "That's that guy Roman. I recognize the car."

Davin's obviously a bit confused, but he lifts a hand and gestures for Roman to pull into the service bay. He does still get people showing up on Saturdays because they haven't gotten wind of the new schedule, and Davin usually ends up taking them with a "just this once". If Roman needs something simple, he can try to squeeze him in, but Spencer comes first and he does have plans with James.

"Hey man," Davin says when he gets out of the car. "Didn't think I'd see ya again so soon. Car givin' ya trouble?"

[doublethepain]

Spencer relaxes when Davin says that it's Roman, not because he'd necessarily been nervous about who'd been driving up and why, but he always gets a bit anxious when he thinks he might have to have a conversation with someone unexpected, especially if it's a stranger. He's much better about being able to socialize for more than a few minutes at a time without having to duck out with a barely passable excuse of needing to run to the restroom or having to return a call, but that's only because meeting Joel last year had opened so many new doors for him. For them both, really, because Joel hadn't exactly been much of a social butterfly himself.

They're certainly not running around town trying to join every party they see but at the very least, they don't immediately feel like they need to leave the second they walk through the door. It helps that they have each other, that they know if it gets to be too much for either of them, leaving with no questions asked won't be a problem. So yes, he supposes it's easier now than it ever has been before because he has a safety net but nobody learns how to walk on their own without support--and if there's anyone he can count on for constant support, it's his husband, the ring on his finger is enough proof of that.

Spencer raises his cup to Roman as the man steps out of his car, smiling when he notices a couple of the books he'd bought from the store the last time he'd been in sitting on the passenger seat before he nudges the door shut with his hip. It isn't until Spencer looks up at Roman that he sees the widespread grin on his face, a grin that seems to be a bit too much for where they are and what they're doing, and Spencer almost gets the sense that Roman is overcompensating for something he can't quite put his finger on.

It's all in his mind, he tells himself, he's still just a bit on edge after what had happened on the beach last week but even so, he shifts uncomfortably against the Jetta, shoulders drawing inward as he tucks his coffee cup closer to his chest.

"Davin, Spencer, glad you're both here," Roman says, giving the roof of Joel's car a light tap before leaning his forearms against it. Spencer almost asks him to take a step back because it seems a bit presumptuous, getting that close, but then again, it's a car. Had Roman been in Spencer's personal space, it would be quite a bit different.

"Car's just fine," Roman continues, which seems odd, but Spencer stays quiet as his eyes shift to watch Davin, wondering what his friend is making of this. "I was actually looking for you guys. That coffee? Man, I'd love a coffee right about now, mind grabbing me a cup?"

He's looking right at Spencer when he asks, and Spencer frowns, narrowing his eyes in confusion before he finally shrugs a shoulder and quietly agrees. He offers Davin a tight smile as he heads back toward the office and there's a little voice in the back of his mind, an instinct, that tells him that maybe he ought to consider calling Joel but even then, Spencer would have no idea what to tell him. So he prepares the coffee while murmurs of conversation that he can't quite make out flow in from the garage.

"Coffee," Spencer says when he returns, holding the cup out for Roman to take; but Roman doesn't take it, he just keeps smiling, and it's then that he notices Davin is tense beside him. He lowers the cup, eyes shifting between the two men as his uneasiness grows. "Is everything alright?"

[davin]

Davin has this weird sense of dread, and the odd smile on Roman's face isn't making him feel any better. There's just something strange about the whole thing, and Davin frowns when Roman asks Spencer to go get him some coffee. There's this smug superiority in his tone and actions, and Davin watches as Spencer awkwardly turns to head for the office before he looks at Roman skeptically.

"So," he begins, trying to keep his tone light and joking, "if there's nothin' wrong with your car, why are ya here bossin' 'round my friends in my shop?"

Davin is smiling tightly as he says it, but he feels uncomfortable around the man. He suddenly flashes back to being attacked in this very shop, and for a service bay so spacious, it suddenly feels like the walls are closing in.

"Fine, you got me," Roman replies with that same unnerving smile. "I didn't just stop by to say hi. I knew you'd both be here, and I need a... favor, I guess you'd say."

There's something in his tone that puts Davin on edge, and he's close to reaching into his pocket to call James. He feels threatened for reasons he couldn't even really explain, and he's tense when Spencer returns. Roman doesn't take the coffee and just keeps smiling like a creep, and Davin has had about enough.

"Look, man. I'm finishin' this up for Spencer an' then I'm closin' up shop for the night," Davin tells him, and his voice has lost all its humor now. "So I think ya should head on out, alright?"

"No need to be so dramatic, Davin," Roman replies with a smirk, and Davin rolls his eyes. He steps away with his fingers clenched at his side, prepared to defend himself and Spencer if need be, but he clearly underestimates the danger that they're in. As soon as he turns, Roman picks up the wrench Davin had been using earlier and winks at Spencer before lifting his arm and cracking Davin across the back of the head with it. Davin drops like a stone, falling unconscious to the cement floor with his head turned towards Spencer, eyes closed as blood drips onto the floor.

Roman puts his foot on Davin's shoulder, toe of his boot edging in towards his neck. He grins at Spencer and calmly takes a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his fingerprints from the handle of the bloody wrench before setting it on top of Joel's car. "Now, Spencer. We're going to take a little trip, alright? And you'll be quiet and cooperate, I'm sure, because you wouldn't want anything else to happen to your dear little witch friend, right?"

[doublethepain]

It happens so quickly, so swiftly, that Spencer barely has time to process that it'd happened at all. He has no idea what had been said between Roman and Davin during the short time he'd stepped away; the only thing he knows is that he's now standing in a puddle of the coffee he'd spilled at the sight of Davin's bloodied, prone form, and it isn't until he hears Roman's fingers snapping at him that he looks back up with wide, dazed eyes.

He wants to say something, wants to do something, wants to run until he gets to Joel or James Thornton or absolutely anyone who could help right now, but he finds himself frozen to the spot, struck by memories he's fought so hard to let fade over the past year. But he's back there now, back in the library with Mark Fuller, and the wrench on the car is that broken glass of whiskey that Spencer can hear shattering against his own head all over again. He's trembling, he realizes, overcome with terrors of past and present, and he has no idea what he should do.

"Spencer. I'm going to need you to focus, alright, there's a new Outlander on at eight and if I miss it, I swear to god, I'm definitely taking it out on your little buddy here."

The sheer brazenness of Roman's tone is what shocks Spencer back to reality and suddenly, he's taking a ragged breath, as if he'd forgotten how to breathe in those short moments of losing himself in memories of what Mark had done to him. Spencer isn't the one who's bleeding this time, though, it's Davin, and he won't do anything that would risk getting his friend hurt any more. He has no idea why this is happening, what Roman's plan is, who the actual target is; but as Roman comes round the car and smiles as he opens his jacket to reveal the grip of a pistol, Spencer feels his heart sink.

There is no escaping this, he thinks, the choice is clear.

"I'm going to need your help, okay? You get his feet, we're going to throw him in the trunk. But hey, you get shotgun, so we'll have a good time."

Spencer doesn't say a single word, which doesn't seem to bother Roman very much, and he can feel the hot tears that have been welling in his eyes begin to spill down his cheeks the second the trunk is closed over Davin's still body because for the first time, Spencer considers the possibility that Roman might have hit his friend hard enough to kill him.

"Roman," he finally murmurs, throat dry and the name practically fading at the tip of his tongue. "Roman, you don't have to go through with this. Whatever you want, we can talk about it. Figure out a different way to get it to you."

"Sorry, Spence, there is no other way. The books you gave me were very clear about that so just trust me." He claps a hand down on Spencer's shoulder, making him flinch. "You cooperate, and I won't hurt him again. You don't? Well..." Roman stretches his arm out to grab the wrench from the Jetta, shrugging a shoulder as he waves it between them. "I can't say that either of you will make it out of this remembering your own names. So okay! Ready to go for a ride? Other side's unlocked."

It's almost worse that Roman is so casual. Mark had been dangerous, yes, but at least he'd played the part of a villain. Roman speaks to him as if they're friends and with a smile on his face, and Spencer finds it somehow more unsettling.

The realization hits him then that his husband expects him to be gone for most of the day, and Davin had mentioned a date with James tonight but that's a few hours away yet. They could be anywhere by then without anyone knowing to go look for them until it's too late. As Roman slips into the driver's seat--without waiting for Spencer to enter the car at that, apparently merely assuming that he wouldn't dare do anything else--Spencer wipes at his cheek with the back of his palm before squaring his shoulders and nodding slightly to himself as if for motivation as he makes his decision.

He needs to leave something behind, something that will make Joel understand--because Joel will come looking for him, Spencer knows that for a fact--that he and Davin hadn't simply gone out somewhere without telling anyone. There's droplets of blood on the ground, the spilled coffee, but there needs to be no doubt that they'd been taken so that Joel find a way to get to him faster. So he twists his wedding band off his finger, heart lurching in his chest because he hasn't taken it off once since Joel had slipped it on at their wedding, and clears his throat as it drops to the ground with a soft clink.

"I don't have all day," Roman calls impatiently, glaring at him expectantly before slamming his driver door and as Spencer climbs into the passenger side, the only thing he can think is that he hopes he'll still be given the chance to live long enough to see his baby born.

[davin]

"Now, don't move, Spencer. Make a run for it, and Davin's blood is on your hands," Roman says once they're out of the service bay. He stops the car and gets out, whistling an upbeat tune as he rolls down the service bay doors and locks everything up, dusting off his hands as he surveys his handiwork with a nod. No one looking at the shop will realize that anything is amiss, not right away. It just looks like the witch has closed up for the night, and that's good enough for Roman.

He had removed Davin's cell phone from his pocket when they loaded him into the car and left it in his toolbox, and he'll be sure to take Sepncer's as well. He'll have to be extra careful since the witch is fucking a cop, but he's confident. He's worked far too hard on this plan to mess it up now.

Spencer is still sitting in the passenger seat when Roman returns, and he gives him a smile before slamming the door shut and heading out of town. There's a small cluster of unused warehouses that he's and purchased, and that's where he pulls the car up to. "Come on, Spence. Let's get Davin inside. He can't be comfortable back there, right?"

Roman and Spencer go back to the trunk and Roman opens it, reaching in to feel for Davin's pulse, just to be sure. The kid looks a little dead, and that would really fuck things up. Luckily, it's still ticking, and Roman hauls him out of the car. He waits for Spencer to pick up his feet, rolling his eyes slightly at the traumatized look on his face as they drag the witch inside.

There's a moderately sized room in the middle of one warehouse that Roman chose thanks to its sunken floor. That's where he leads Spencer, and Roman's feet splash through a few inches of water as he steps down into the room. He doesn't explain the reasoning to Spencer, just drags Davin over to the opposite wall and sits him down in the water, laughing a bit and reaching out to prop him up against the wall when he lists to the side. The entire room is empty of all furniture and the floor is covered in two inches of cool water. He doesn't bother tying them up, not yet. Spencer won't leave Davin, and once Roman sets up the wards like that witch taught him, Davin will be just as useless when he wakes up.

"Have a seat!" He exclaims, like Spencer is a guest arriving to a party, and Roman laughs a little as Spencer shuffles over towards Davin. There's blood caked to his temple and cheek, running down the side of his neck, but it's not too much. He isn't bleeding out or anything, and he'll probably come to soon enough. Yeah, this is really coming together. He'll let them stew for a bit, he thinks. He'll wait for Davin to wake up, wait for them to get all worked up, and then he'll come back. Maybe he'll go get some dinner, grab a drink. People really are so friendly in this town. "Make yourself comfortable. And, you know, make sure Davin doesn't die or whatever. I'll be back later."

[doublethepain]

Spencer can't decide whether he finds Roman more or less terrifying than Mark Fuller. At least with Mark, he'd been fully aware of the motivation, had merely been a pawn in a much bigger plan to get revenge on Joel; but aside from what he'd down to Davin, aside from his threads and bringing them into this room, Roman has been nothing but pleasant. It makes Spencer's skin crawl to watch him smile like that, as if he hasn't a care in the world and frankly, that might not be too far from the truth. Whatever it is Roman wants, he's one step closer to it now that he's managed to get them here and that alone seems to be making him immeasurably pleased.

As for himself, Spencer doesn't even know where to begin when it comes to trying to organize his thoughts. The only thing he wants is what he always wants, and that's to be with his husband. Joel's going to worry soon because staying out without warning isn't like Spencer, not even remotely, and it's a cold comfort to know that it will probably be sooner than later that their disappearances are discovered. This is all too familiar, the fear of never being found, but Joel will know what to do. he always knows what to do.

"My husband is going to be looking for me," he says, voice low as he looks up at Roman with a calculating stare. He doesn't feel brave--in fact, he feels like he might cry again--but with Davin unconscious beside him, Spencer knows he has no choice but to pretend that he is. Anything that might get them out of this is worth a try, after all, and he doesn't know why in the world Roman is subjecting them to a partially flooded room, but in the grand scheme of things, none of that matters. Spencer doesn't care why they're here, he only cares that they get out, and he has to believe they will. Whether he and Davin figure it out themselves or they're rescued, they're getting out of here because in just a few weeks, the baby is coming, and Spencer needs to be a father. Nothing in the world could make him give that up, not even this.

"He'll be looking, and he'll find me," Spencer continues, raising his voice a bit as he finds the courage to sound stronger. "And Davin's partner is a cop, do you really think you're going to get away with this?"

The way Roman looks at him is almost pitying, and it makes Spencer's stomach turn to realize that none of this is making an impact. None of it is making Roman think twice, not that Spencer had necessarily expected that to happen, but it's worrisome to think that their kidnapper hardly seems to be affected by anything at all.

"I don't have time for this right now," Roman says, sighing heavily as he checks the phone he pulls from his pocket--Spencer's phone--and tuts. "Only two missed calls. Hubby can't be that worried about you with just two missed calls so don't you worry your pretty little head, we're all going to be sticking together for awhile yet. Just keep your mouth shut, and you'll be fine."

Spencer swallows hard, biting down on the inside of his cheek before lifting his chin defiantly, shoulders already tensing in preparation for whatever punishment he might suffer for this. "Whatever it is you're planning, it won't work. I don't know why you took us, Roman, but you don't have to go through with this. Davin and I, we've been good to you, haven't we? Do you really want to--"

The first punch is unexpected, Roman had moved far too quickly for Spencer to even really process before it'd happened, and he can feel his lip splitting and taste the blood in his mouth before the second blow, this time to the gut. He doubles over with a pained grunt, grasping at his belly as Roman catches him from falling and pulls him toward his chest, hushing Spencer softly the whole way through.

"I told you to keep your mouth shut," Roman murmurs, keeping his lips closer to Spencer's ear. "Next time, it's Davin who's going to get hurt because you can't follow simple directions, you understand? I tell you do something, you do it."

Spencer's still reeling from the punches when Roman shoves him back against the wall, the water splashing at his feet as he tries to get his bearings. His eyes settle on Davin, on the blood that's caked against his hairline, and Spencer lets out a shuddering sigh as he draws his arms tight over his chest. Roman, it seems, is satisfied enough with that.

"I'll be in to check on you boys in a bit," he says, drawing a keyring out of his back pocket and throwing it in the air before catching it in a fist with a wide smile. "Hey, don't either of you go anywhere, okay? See you soon."

It's nearly five minutes after Roman walks out the door--and locks it behind him--and Spencer falls to his knees, eyes still trained on Davin. He shrugs his cardigan off his shoulders--Joel's cardigan, god, he wants his husband so badly--and drapes it over Davin's prone form, The water is going to chill them eventually, Spencer knows it, and Davin's going to need the warmth more than he does with the condition he's in. Spencer is no stranger to head wounds, and the longer Davin stays unconscious, the more worried he's going to be. U

Until then, it's all he can do to lean back against the wall with his knees tucked under his chin, thinking of all the different possible scenarios of how this might end while he waits for Davin to wake up.

[davin]

He comes back in waves.

First it's just pain, and he doesn't want to wake up. It hurts too bad, like the worst fucking migraine ever, so he keeps his eyes closed and decides to stay asleep. But then he feels the cold. It's seeping into his bones and he's wet and stiff, and there's something sticky all over his face.

He opens his eyes to see a dark, dank looking room and he tenses up, letting out a low groan and reaching up to touch his head. He fingers come away bloody and that's when he remembers everything, all of it. He gasps and plants his palms against the floor, plunging his hands into cool water, and looks around for Spencer. He's right next to him with a split lip and Davin's eyes go wide as he looks around, trying to find Roman, but he isn't there. Everything is still a bit fuzzy and he can't seem to find his words. He's so confused and terrified, and in so much pain that he sort of wants to throw up, so he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"Did he say what he wanted?" Davin asks after a moment, because there has to be an end game to this. Roman isn't doing it for fun. Davin blinks blearily and looks down at the water. It's covering the whole floor and Davin is uncomfortably drenched. "What's with the - "

It hits Davin then. There's no way to use his powers of electricity to fight back, not with them sitting in water. He can't electrocute himself but a single spark could send that electricity through the water, and right into Spencer.

"I can't shock him without shocking you. That's what the water's for," Davin says quietly. He grits his teeth and reaches up to grasp at the brick wall, scraping his fingers as he pulls himself into a standing position. His stomach lurches and he has to close his eyes as he sways dangerously, but he manages to pull himself together. "But that's not all I have. I'm gonna get us outta here, okay? It's gonna be alright."

There are bars on the windows. They were probably once used to keep people out, and now it's to keep them in. Davin swallows hard and lifts a hand, calling for that metal, but it doesn't budge. Nothing happens, nothing at all, and Davin takes a staggering step back. "Oh god."

He looks at Spencer with an utterly wounded expression and his eyes dart around the room. His magic, that always familiar pleasant buzz under his skin, is entirely muted. It's gone, and Davin feels completely undone. He feels violated, stripped bare, and so fucking empty that he does almost throw up, just from the sheer force of loss. His magic was the very first thing that he ever had to call his own. It's what saved him, what gave him something to cling to. It's the tool he used to find himself and become the person he is today. It was something entirely his, and such a integral part of him that he never even thought to imagine what life could be like without it.

Now he knows.

"W-what did he do t'my magic?" Davin asks desperately, tears burning in his eyes. He's shaking all over and he shakes his head as in disbelief as he looks at Spencer. After a moment, he falls to his knees in the water and looks down at his hands, fingers spread wide as he tries and tries to call any piece of metal to him, any loose screw or lost paperclip, but there's no answer. His magic, for the first time since Davin discovered it, is completely quiet. "It's gone. I can't - Spencer, I can't feel it. What did he do?"

[doublethepain]

Spencer knows he should tell Davin to sit back down, to rest while he can before Roman gets back and does whatever he has planned for them, but he can't find the words. He can only watch as Davin tries what he can, makes promises that can't be kept to find them a way out, and Spencer doesn't think he's ever felt so utterly resigned in his life. He's not giving up, he can't, not when he's a husband and an expectant father; but he's not sure that there's any point in fighting right now. They should save their energy for when they really do need it.

"He's not worried," Spencer says, his tone flat. "There's nothing that speaks of nervousness in him, not a single thing, he's just pleased. The way he talks, it's like he hasn't done anything wrong at all." That's probably exactly what Roman believes, Spencer thinks. Whatever it is that he's after, Roman is sure that he's taking all the right steps to gain it, and it's that casual attitude he carries with him that's truly what frightens Spencer the most. Mark had been angry, vengeful, but at least when Spencer had been ziptied to that chair with his fingers broken and head pounding, he could understand those emotions in the context of the situation.

This is different. Roman has no reason to hold a grudge against either of them, Spencer is sure of that, so the reason they're here must be because-- "He needs us. He isn't just a psychopath looking for another victim, he needs something from us," he says, tilting his head as he looks to Davin. "It has to do with magic, I can't think of any other explanation. If he isn't worried about a cop and a witch finding him, it must be because he believes he can't be found. If your magic is gone, if he's so flippant about all of this, maybe it's because he put up a barrier around this place. A spell or a ward, something to make sure something like a location spell wouldn't work and that's what must be muting your powers, too."

He's rambling, figuring all of this out as he goes along, and Spencer doesn't know that it's true but most certainly, it's possible; and besides, giving his mind something to do other than worry about Davin or what might happen when Roman comes back is what he direly needs right now.

Still, the devastated look in Davin's eyes over his temporary--and it has to be temporary, it just had to--loss of powers reminds Spencer of the way Joel had looked on that island. When the cruise ship had exploded and they'd all been left to fend for themselves, everyone's powers had left them. He remembers Joel describing it as feeling empty, like an enormous part of himself had been ripped from his chest, and he wants to be able to fix this for Davin but as always, there's absolutely nothing he can do. There never seems to be, really. He's become more of a liability than anything else and there's little that can be said to dispute that; which only makes it all the more puzzling that Roman would want him.

"We need a plan," Spencer says, as if that isn't already obvious. "We need to unhinge him somehow, make him feel like he's losing control. He's too confident, we need to shake him, even if it's without the help of magic."

[davin]

"A ward," Davin repeats, nodding a bit dazedly. He clings to that hope, because it's so much better than the alternative. "That makes sense. That's what it has t'be, right? If he didn't do anythin' t'me. Other than knock me out with my own goddamned wrench, I mean."

Davin reaches up to run his fingers through his hair and push it away from his face. His palm brushes the bloody lump at his temple and he winces, prodding at it carefully and then looking down at his shoulder. It's not what he was wearing at the shop, and after a moment he recognizes it as the cardigan that Spencer was wearing. It's such a small but hugely thoughtful gesture that Davin's eyes burn again, and he hugs the material against him for a moment before sliding it off of his shoulders and walking back over to Spencer. He feels exhausted and sore all over, and the goose egg on his head is throbbing in time with his pulse.

"We need t'know what he wants if we're gonna shake him," Davin tells him, handing the cardigan back before sitting back down next to Spencer. His ass is soaking wet and it's completely uncomfortable, but it's better than standing. The cool brick feels good against his head and he takes a minute just to breathe. "He didn't say anythin' while I was out?"

He turns to look at Spencer, and at this close he finally spots his fat lip and the blood caked at the corner of his mouth. Davin swallows, eyes going hard and angry. For some reason it's so much worse that he hurt Spencer. He thinks of Joel then, and how scared he must be by now. And then there's James. Fuck.

"The date I had with James tonight," Davin says quietly. "It was for his birthday. That fuckin' sucks." He heaves a huge sigh and rubs his eyes, looking down between his feet for a moment before turning to look at the small, grimy window. "Looks like the sun's just goin' down. It hasn't been that long but they'll be lookin' for us."

His heart feels heavy, just thinking of how worried James and Joel will be, how panicked. It's all the more reason for Davin to take a deep breath and calm himself as much as he can, and he sounds determined when he speaks again. "We'll figure this out, okay? We can. D'ya have any idea what he could want from us?"

He thinks back to seeing Roman at the bookstore and the bad feeling that washed over him at knowing that the man had such powerful books in his possession. He shrugged it off so easily, but maybe he should have trusted his gut a little more. "It's t'do with magic, has t'be. Those books he got... they were some intense stuff. I just have no idea what it is he could want."

[doublethepain]

"The books," he murmurs, brow knitting as he nods, remembering the brief but telling thing Roman had said before he'd driven them out of the garage. "He said that there was no other way to do what he wanted, that 'the books were very clear' about that. You're right, it is about magic, it has to be." He feels a wave of nausea turn his stomach because if that is the case, which Spencer is sure of now, then it's his own fault. He'd told Joel to place the order for the books Roman had requested, even though his husband had questioned why anyone but an actual witch would even know such texts existed, but Spencer had given Roman the benefit of the doubt. After all, he himself is human and interested in witchcraft behind what the books they sell to wide-eyed, lore-loving tourists; but whether Roman is a witch or not, whatever he's planning on using those books to do certainly doesn't speak of something as mild as a healing potion or even a love spell.

The wards are obviously sophisticated, enough to be confident that nobody will find them with a loctaror spell Roman must have known Joel would attempt, and even more so to steal Davin's powers from him like this. But wards, Spencer knows, don't require the actual gift of magic; rather, it requires the ability to say words correctly and pour just the right amount of ingredients into a bowl.

"Power," he murmurs, looking down at the cardigan in his hands and bringing it closer to his chest. It smells like Joel, of books and maybe the slightest hint of whiskey, and it's not as good as having his husband here with him but it's something. It's a reminder that he can't give up, as if he needs one at all, and he has to swallow the ecxceptionally large lump in his throat at the sight of his bare ring finger before he refocuses his mind n the situation at hand.

"Power," he says again, "Roman is all about power. He knows you're a witch, that's why he knocked you out first. He knew I'd do whatever he said if he used you as leverage, and he hit me because I didn't stop talking when he told me to stop. All of it is about power, it makes him nervous not to have it or to think that someone might be trying to take it from him. I think that's the key, those books..." He trails off, frowning as he thinks back to what he'd seen when flipping through the pages of one of the books in the shop before handing them right over, and then his eyes widen as he turns his head to look at Davin. "Power transferrence. It was something I saw in one of the texts he bought that day you came to Crossroads, that has to be it. "

He can't quite be proud about figuring it out, not when it doesn't help them very much to know that a crazed man who wants to steal powers still has them locked up in two inches of whatever in some warehouse that Spencer is sure is out of the way from the main part of town. They may not even be directly in the lines of Siren Cove itself, for all he kows, but he supposes having an idea of the motive if better than knowing nothing at all. The only problem is that between the two fo them, Spencer suspects that Davin won't be as willing to along with whatever Roman wants them to do while they're under his watchful eye, not because Spencer thinks him too young or too foolish but because of how desperate he is without his magic right now.

Desperation can be a dangerous thing. Mark Fuller had taught him that.

"Davin," he says carefully, not wanting to sound like he's lecturing because that's not what this i about. They're both scared, both wanting to be where they're supposed to be with the men in their lives, and Spencer can't imagine what James must be going through--on his birthday, no less--but he knows exactly what Joel is feeling. They don't have that same kind of psychic bond that Joel has with Charlotte, but that column of energy that connects them is always there, even if it's being blocked by these wards right now. Besides that, Spencer knows what Joel must be thinking because if there positions were reversed, he'd be thinking the exact same thing himself.

He's terrified of what it wil do to him, his mind, to be separated from his husband like this when they haven't spent more than one night apart in nearly a year. To some, it might sound co-dependent, but for Spencer knows better than that. He and Joel, they're meant to be together, they have been from the start, and that is why it hurts so much to be away from him.

"We have to play this right," he says, and he's hardly an expert on how to fool an aggressor but what he says is the truth, he knows that much. "We have to go through the motions with him, otherwise he's going to hurt us. He has a gun, and he already knows you won't risk using your powers in case it causes something to happen to me. So we just have to listen to him, let him talk himself to the point of exhauston if that's what he wants, and if Joel and James don't get here by the time he's ready to do what he wants to do, we'll just have to take the risk and make a move."

It's not much of a plan--in fact, Spencer is essentially suggesting they just let this ride until Roman returns, which isn't a plan at all--but it's all they have right now.

[davin]

Davin listens to Spencer closely, frowning a bit and reaching up to press his cold, wet palm against the bump on his head. "Power transference? Is that even -"

It's a terrifying thought, and not one that Davin has spent much time on. He frowns and swallows hard before eventually nodding. It isn't much of a plan, but Davin can keep his cool. He can try, at least. He'll do whatever he can.

His heart aches for James and Joel and everyone else who may be hurting because of this, and he knows that they have to make it through. They just have to, not just for themselves, but for everyone else. Davin looks over at Spencer and then slides in to press their shoulders together. He knows that Spencer doesn't like to be touched, but this is different, he thinks. They could use the solidarity and it helps Davin to have that point of contact.

He's about to say something else when the door opens and Davin sits up straighter, eyes wide in the dimly lit room. Roman walks in whistling twirling a set up keys and sipping from an iced coffee from Quill. "Oh look, you're up! Welcome back, Davin."

Roman walks towards them slowly, barely making a splash as he moves through the water. He takes another sip and then holds out the cup, shaking it a little. "I know how much you love these. I could have brought you one, but I only have so many hands." He finishes the coffee and tosses it over his shoulder, letting the plastic cup land in the corner with a splash. "I drove by the shop on my way back. Cops everywhere, what a sad scene. I think I saw Joel in handcuffs. That wasn't part of the plan, but it did give me a good laugh."

Davin grits his teeth and plants his hands in the water, hiding the way his fingers curl into tight fists. Anger burns in his belly and he wants to scream and get up and fight, but he knows that will get him nowhere. He thinks about what Spencer says and does his best to remain calm, looking up at Roman with a slightly clenched jaw. "What is it ya want from us?"

"Done with smalltalk already, huh? Well, fine." Roman shrugs and hikes up his pants a bit before crouching down in front of them. Davin sees the handle of the gun sticking out of his jacket and it's so frustrating because if he had his powers, that gun would be in his hand in under a second. But now, he can't even reach for it without endangering them both. "You know, Davin. I met your grandmother. Real spitfire of a woman, isn't she?"

Fear like Davin has never known strikes his heart and he looks up at Roman with wide, terrified eyes and his shoulders jerk up, like he wants to lunge at him, but he reigns himself in even as he trembles with it all. "If ya hurt her, I swear - "

"Oh, you'll what?" Roman pulls out the gun and holds it up, close to Davin's face. "It's killing you that you can't just use that cute little brain of yours to snatch this from me, isn't it? Without your magic, you're useless. You've never had to adapt."

Roman's eyes spark with anger then and he strikes Davin across the face with the base of the gun handle. His head snaps to the other side and Davin gasps from the pain that sears through his cheekbone. Skin opens and blood runs down, meeting what;s already staining the collar of his shirt. Roman just laughs and looks over at Spencer before standing up and putting the gun back in his coat.

"Anyway, as I was saying. I heard of this great and powerful witch. One of a kind, really, so I flew all the way to Ireland and she wouldn't help me. Can you believe it? So I looked into her and found out she had a beloved grandson in America, all alone and unprotected." Roman grins and suddenly ducks down to grip Davin's shoulder, hauling him close. "So I thought, you know what? I'll just use him."

"Use me for what?" Davin rasps out, glaring defiantly at Roman, who grips his chin and pushes him back hard enough that his head cracks against the brick.

"There's a spell, and you're going to cast it for me. That's it, really." Roman stands back up and grins manically, hands on his hips like he's so proud of himself. "I'm sick of being human. I'm so much better than that. I deserve more than that. I should be better. So, Davin, you're going to do the spell your grandmother wouldn't. You're going to make me a witch."

"That's impossible," Davin grits out, teeth stained with blood. "You're born a witch, not made."

"Oh, but I can be born again. I can be so powerful, Davin. But only with your help." He looks over at Spencer and crouches down in front of him, staring at him with a grin even as he speaks to Davin. "You're going to take someone's magic and put it in me. And not just anyone's magic, no."

Davin's stomach turns as Roman reaches out and pats Spencer's cheek. "Spencer's precious husband's magic. That's what I want, and you're going to give it to me."

[doublethepain]

There's no telling whether Roman is lying about seeing Joel in handcuffs or not, he's so utterly flippant about every last thing that Spencer can barely decide whether this is a dream or not; but the mere thought, the mere suggestion that anyone could possibly think Joel would hurt him makes him angrier than being locked in this wretched room with this vile man every could. There is absolutely no one in this town who treats him better than his husband does, nobody who understands him as well Joel does, and Spencer thinks that their friends, those who have seen them as a couple, will know that. It's everyone else he's worried about, the ones who'd found it so easy to believe that Spencer could kill his own mother and father--they're the ones who are going to try to persecute Joel for something he hadn't done, and Spencer can only imagine what his husband must be feeling right now.

It'll go back down to Amy, he knows it will, and he wishes he could be there to reassure his husband that her death hadn't been his fault, that he shouldn't blame himself for that or for Mark coming back or for this or for anything; but then, he supposes, that would mean they wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place and so, the words wouldn't need repeating.

When Roman reveals his master plan, the chill Spencer had expected to go down his spine is notably absent, if only because the enormously smug smile on their captor's face is so infuriating that Spencer can only feel a swell of fury rise in his chest. It isn't just him or Davin or James Thornton or even any of their friends that Roman is affecting right now, it's Joel and their unborn child and that, above all, is unacceptable. Beyond the fact that Davin has a new bleeding cut on his face, they're both still in relatively working condition and in that moment, Spencer decides that when they leave this place--and they will leave this place--it won't be with Roman in just one piece.

Perhaps it's a darker thought than he's used to, but he doesn't care right now. He'd convinced Joel not to kill Mark at the lighthouse and then he'd gotten that letter in the mail that makes him sick to think about, even sicker to wonder whether he should have let Joel finish the job; but right now, the sickest thing is that this hardly has anything to do with him at all. Roman wants Joel's magic, but Spencer had been the easier target.

"I'm a proxy," he says, giving voice to his realizations, and he frowns as Roman starts a slow clap.

"Very good, gold star for our little genius," Roman answers, rolling his eyes dramatically before reaching out to ruffle Spencer's hair. "Listen, we can make this really easy, all you two have to do is cooperate. So Spencer, you're just going to lie down and take it, sorry about that whole crazy painful part of it, can't escape that. And Davin, you're going to do the spell from my handy dandy Crossroads-sold book. If you don't?"

Roman sighs, getting to his feed but grabbing onto the lapels of Spencer's shirt as he does, hauling them both off the ground and kneeing Spencer in the gut, which Spencer responds to with a pained yelp, before holding him at arm's length.

"Well, if you don't it's not going to end well."

With a grin, Roman slams a fist into Spencer's nose, a spray of blood cascading to the water at their feet, then pushes Spencer back until he hits the wall with a grunt. Another punch to the nose make Spencer sag in Roman's strong grip, one to his jaw makes him cry out as he hears a sickening crunch of bone and god, he's known greater pain this but all he wants is from Roman to stop.

"Please," he shouts, a bruise already blooming around his eye so that his vision starts to close off, and he paws for purchase that he doesn't find against Roman's shirt until he's met with several hits to the ribs. He's expecting another round when suddenly, he's dropped unceremoniously to the floor, knees already curling to his chest the second he hits the water, trying to ward off the pain in his abdomen that he knows won't pass anytime soon.

"That's example one," he hears Roman say. "Do we all understand each other?"

[davin]

Davin feels sick.

This is dark, devastating magic that Roman wants him to do. It's no wonder that his grandmother turned him away, and Davin wonders how he even got an audience with her in the first place. At least his gran was intimidating enough that he didn't try anything on her. He never would have succeeded, and he must not have appeared to be too much of a threat, or she would have given Davin some sort of heads up.

Roman wants him to do something that would turn his soul black and his magic dark. It would sully Davin's magic and it would destroy Joel. He can't even imagine what it would be like to have the magic ripped from your body. Davin is feeling it now, just having his muted, but the more time passes the more that he's aware that it's still there. It's just been muted, snuffed out, and the flame just has to be re-lit. It's not gone, not like Joel's would be. He can't even imagine a witch surviving something like that. He doesn't know if he even would.

That's not even taking into consideration what Roman would do with such power. Davin isn't entirely clear as to the full extend of Joel's abilities, but any power put in the hands of someone like Roman is too much.

Davin's thoughts are cut off by Roman hauling Spencer up and starting to give him what can only be described as a beating. Davin gets up and staggers over to Roman, grabbing at his shoulders and shouting for him to stop, but all it gets him is an elbow to the face that sends him stumbling backwards and landing on his ass in the water. The anger that surges through him makes him feel the buzz of his magic, barely there and gone in a flash, but it's something. It's not gone and maybe if Davin works hard enough, he can reignite that flame on his own.

"Stop!" Davin cries out, and there are tears streaming down his face when Spencer falls to the floor. He crawls over on his hands and knees, water splashing as he goes, and puts his hand on Spencer's shoulder. He puts himself between Spencer and Roman, shielding him as best he can, and he turns around to look up at Roman. He has to stall this somehow, because there's no fucking way that he's doing this spell. He doesn't know what harm it would cause Joel, and he can't let Roman walk out of here with magic. There's just no way.

"I understand," Davin spits out, keeping his arms spread out at his sides like he can protect Spencer, like he's in any shape to. He's fairly certain that he has a concussion and he's in so much pain that he's pretty sure he would throw up if he had anything in his stomach, but he has to try. That's all he can do. "But why do we need Spencer? I'll do the spell, just let him go."

There's no fucking way in hell he would ever do it, and he hopes Spencer knows that. He even lays a hand on his arm and squeezes, just trying to reassure him.

"Oh, Davin. I see what you're trying to do." Roman crouches down again and reaches out to slap Davin's cheek before gripping his chin. It's a move that probably wouldn't have hurt at all without his injuries, but it sends enough white-hot pain roaring through his head that he lets out a whimper. "I know it won't be easy to convince you. Don't you think I planned for that, Davin? I know right now you're thinking that there's no way, you'll never do it."

Roman laughs like he isn't bothered at all and pulls out his gun, cocking it and pressing the barrel to Davin's forehead in such a casual way that Davin is stunned, and it takes a moment for the fear to really register. He lets out a shuddering breath and swallows hard, eyes wide open and trained on Roman as the cool metal presses to his skin. "We have time, Davin. By the time we're through, you'll be begging to help me."

He drags the gun away and points it at Spencer, and Davin nearly lunges for it, he's so terrified, but he manages to stay in one place. Roman grins over at him with his finger on the trigger, raising one eyebrow. "It's amazing what a little desperation can do, huh? I know you, Davin. You've got one of those pesky big hearts, and I know you could never live with yourself if you were the reason I put a bullet in Spencer's brain. If you were the reason a baby grew up without his father."

Roman stands up suddenly and slides the gun back into his coat, smiling down at Davin and Spencer huddled together like it's an adorable sight. "Well, I think I've given you two enough to think about. You look beat. Ha, get it?"

He laughs at his own joke and walks backwards, lifting a hand to wave at them as he moves through the water. "Enjoy your evening. I'll be back later."

Roman leaves and Davin listens as the locks click, stunned into silence for a moment before he scrambles around to look at Spencer, reaching out to grip his shoulder. He doesn't even realize that he's crying until he speaks. "Spencer, fuck. Are ya alright? I wasn't gonna do the spell, ya have t'know that. I just was tryin' 't'get ya out. I'm so sorry."

[doublethepain]

In the moments between being thrown to the ground and Roman walking out the door, Spencer barely registers anything around him. His vision has gone blurry--what's left of it, that is--and the pain in his body is unyielding. Roman is strong, much stronger than he looks, and Spencer wants to be able to lift his head from the wet floor but really, it's better down here. He can sense Davin beside him, though he lets his eyes flutter shut at the conversation between his friend and their aggressor because right now, he doesn't care about any of this. He doesn't want to know Roman's story, doesn't want to be a part of it, he just wants to go home.

Home is where Joel is, where his ring is, where his baby will be. It makes him feel lighter to think of his husband, to focus his energy not on the pain that's radiating through him but on what it will be like to be gathered safely in Joel's arms again, knowing that he's protected in that warm embrace from anything and everything around them. The clarity he needs to have in this room is there, enough for Spencer to know that he'll take whatever Roman has to give if it means he can ensure that Joel keeps his magic. He would do anything for his husband, anything, and he knows how utterly devastated Joel would be stripped of his powers. It would be without warning, without any hint of what was happening, and Spencer doesn't know how it would physically affect him but regardless, his mentality after the fact would surely be irreparable and it would be Spencer's fault.

The click that he hears then isn't like anything he's heard so far, and he doesn't know why it's caught his attention but there's no denying his curiosity now. With a brief shift of his head, one that still aggravates his bruising jaw, but the second he spots the source of the sound, he wishes he'd just kept his head down. A barrel of a gun is pointed right at him, and the fear that's already paralyzed him only grows when Roman threatens to take him from his unborn child and if there's one thought that's worse than never seeing his husband again, it's never getting to hold his son or daughter in his arms for the first time. It makes his bottom lip tremble as his cheeks are stained with newly spilled tears that sound against the water beneath him.

It isn't just fear for himself that has him so out of sorts, it's fear for Davin. Davin, who's put himself between Spencer and Roman in an admirable show of protectiveness, but they all know that this is hopeless. Spencer are Davin are defenseless in this room, weaponless, and to make matters worse, Roman has seen firsthand that they're friends and seems practically gleeful to use that against them.

He wants to say something, but he can't find the words, can't even remember how to breathe properly until Roman's putting the gun away and walking out of the room with a disturbingly casual wave, and it isn't until Davin is turned back to him, asking him questions that are processing so slowly in his mind, that Spencer makes an effort to sit back up. It's slowgoing, but he manages it, hiding his face from Davin the whole way in spite of the fact that his friend has already seen the damage done. It's not that he's ashamed, not that he's self-conscious about the state of his face, but he doesn't want Davin to see the way he cries because way his shoulders are shaking now is far too close to a sign that he's close to giving up.

He isn't, he would never, not with the life that's to be returned to him when they make it out of here, but he doesn't want Davin to think for one second that he's going to have to go through the rest of this alone. "I'm fine," he murmurs, and it's a bold-faced lie because his jaw aches with every word, but he suspects Davin would tell the same one. "I-- I know you'd never do anything like that, I know, none of this is your fault." He finally glances up with his good eye, noting with a choked sob that Davin is crying, too, and without a second though, he pulls his friend closer toward him so he can throw his arms tightly around Davin's shoulders. It's a strange thing, being in such close physical contact, being so vulnerable with anyone who isn't his husband, but this is an extraordinary circumstance. A small bit of comfort has to be allowed.

"They'll find us," he says, voice husky from his crying, and Spencer makes a mental reminder to himself to apologize to Davin later for getting his shirt wet with tears but for right now, he lets himself bury the uninjured side of his face against Davin's shoulder. "They'll find us. I know they will, they have to, and we're going to be just fine."

[davin]

They're both bleeding and they're both crying, both trying to be strong, and Davin squeezes his eyes tight. Spencer's arms around him take him by surprise and he lets out a rough sob, wrapping his arms back around Spencer in kind and holding him tightly. He slips in the water and falls onto his backside, keeping his arms around Spencer as he leans back against the wall.

He doesn't judge Spencer one bit for crying, especially not when tears are still streaming down his own cheeks. The salt stings the open wounds on his face and he sniffs, tightening his fingers around Spencer's shoulder and squeezing his eyes shut as he nods.

"They will," Davin replies, voice low and raw. "We have some awesome people out there. James will have the whole police force out lookin' an' ya know he's stubborn as hell. Him an' Joel will be an unstoppable force. They'll find us."

He has to believe that. Somewhere out there, as scared as they are, people will be looking for them. Davin and Spencer know a lot of powerful people, and for that they're lucky. That gives Davin so much hope, and he takes a deep breath as he rests his head against the brick.

"The spell he wants... I won't do it, no matter what. I can't do that t'Joel, an' it would darken my own magic, twist me into something new." He lets out another shuddering breath and pulls Spencer closer, resting his forehead against the top of Spencer's head. "But I don't want him t'hurt ya either. I don't know what t'do."

[doublethepain]

If there's one person Spencer can count on to never give up, it's his husband. More than anything, he truly believes that Joel won't stop looking until he finds them. What kind of shapes they're in when he does, Spencer can't be sure, but he holds on to what he considers a fact: they'll be rescued soon enough. By this time, Joel surely already knows something is wrong, has probably already even gone to the garage to find the blood and wrench and ring, and Spencer's heart aches for him because he knows that if he'd had to walk in to such a sight, it would destroy him.

But he'd left the ring behind to let Joel know that at least in that moment, he'd been okay. For the most part, he still is, aside from the fear and the anger and pain; but he knows Joel will understand what it means. Joel always understands, whether they're using words with each other or not. So he won't give up hope, he decides, and he won't let Davin, either, because he can't go through something like this alone again.

When he'd been tied to that chair in the lighthouse, he'd truly believed he was going to die that night. He would die scared and alone, with fantasies of how his first date with Joel should have gone his only comfort. Here, at least, he has a friend.

"You do what you have to," Spencer tells him, his tone flat, resigned. "I can take it. If it means keeping you or Joel from being hurt, I can take it. Because you're right, they'll find us, we just have to stay strong until they do. Besides, Roman needs us alive to do the spell, he won't go so far as to kill either of us." Perhaps that isn't much of a relief because there's no telling how far Roman is truly willing to go, what limits he's willing to test, but Spencer would rather know that his husband won't walk into this room to find him dead than anything else.

"Whatever threats he makes, no matter how frightened or angry you become, just remember those two things. He won't kill us, and I can take it." It's entirely possible, even probably, that Roman will come back here to use Spencer against Davin, to beat him until Davin stops resisting, but Spencer wants him to know that it's alright. That at the end of all this, no matter what happens, there will nothing to forgive between them because they're in it together.

"Remember that," he murmurs, sighing as his eyes flutter shut into what will surely be a restless sleep.

[davin]

Davin listens to Spencer as he speaks, and he nods even though he knows it won't be as simple. He has Spencer's permission and his forgiveness in advance, but Davin knows that he'll carry this with him forever. Whatever happens to Spencer, it will way on Davin's heart for the rest of his days. But that's okay, as long as they get out of here.

And they will. He knows they will.

Spencer falls asleep against Davin's shoulder, and for that he's grateful. He wants Spencer to be able to rest. Davin would try to join him, but he knows that he has a concussion, and his mind is racing far too much for him to even think of closing his eyes. He brushes Spencer's hair out of his face and keeps an arm around him, holding him close. The later it gets, the colder it becomes in the room. There's no respite from the chill, not with the water they're forced to sit in, so huddling for warmth and comfort seems to be the best option.

The only light in the room comes from the moon, which is narrowed to a tiny sliver, that shines dimly through the grimy window. Davin stares down at his hand in the dark, breathing deeply and trying to pull at his magic. It's just there, just under his skin, and it's so frustrating because it's lost to him, just out of his reach. But it's there, and Davin won't get up. He'll keep trying, keep pushing against these wards that are suffocating him, and he won't stop.

Eventually he does tire, and he can't help the way he slumps against Spencer, uninjured cheek pressed against his hair as he lets his eyes flutter shut. Soon he drifts off as well, despite his best attempts to stay awake.

He drifts in and out, but he's woken fully by the door opening again. Davin's eyes pop open and he sits up, pulling away from Spencer just so Roman doesn't see how they were huddled so closely together, but it's too late. When Davin opens his eyes and looks at him blearily, there's sunshine streaming into the room and Roman is staring at him with a glint in his eye and an amused smile with a dark edge. He's freshly washed and in a new change of clothes, whereas Davin is grimy and wet. Neither of them can seem to stop shivering and Davin's stomach is turning with hunger. He also feels a bit sick from how much his head aches, and his stomach sinks like a stone when he realizes that Roman is holding a wooden baseball bat casually over one shoulder.

It's then that Davin realizes something. The water on the floor and complete lack of anything in the room, the wooden bat, they're all precautions. They're all back ups in case the wards fail. Roman obviously isn't completely confident in them, and that gives Davin hope. If Roman is putting backups in place, that means that they can fail.

Maybe Davin just has to keep trying.

"Morning, boys!" Roman calls out cheerfully. "Don't you two look cute. Two little peas in a pod." They don't say anything, and Roman casually twirls the bat. "So, Davin, you've had time to sleep on it. Are you going to give me what I want?"

"No," Davin says quietly, and he's so fucking scared but stays outwardly calm, glowering up at Roman even as he shivers. "I won't do it."

"Well, that's too bad." He crouches down and suddenly strikes out to punch Spencer in the face, and Davin flinches all over. "Morning, Spencer. You have Davin to thank for that one."

He draws his arm back to swing at him again, and Davin doesn't think. He just lunges forward and grabs Roman's arm, trying to drag him back, but Davin is stiff and clumsy from the cold, and weak from exhaustion and fear, so it doesn't have much of an effect. Roman shakes him off easily and Davin stumbles backwards, one arm around for balance, and he doesn't even notice Roman pulling the bat back.

The bat his Davin's hand with an audible crack, bones snapping under the force, and Davin lets out a hoarse cry. He falls to his knees and grips his wrist, looking down at his hand in horror. It's crushed, he knows it is, and Davin looks up from his hand just in time to see the bat come in contact with Spencer's shoulder. It doesn't carry the same amount of force as the strike to Davin's hand, but he knows it will still hurt like crazy.

Davin's hand is hanging uselessly and throbbing in time with his pulse, and he scrambles back over to Spencer, trying to put himself between Roman and Spencer, but Roman just stands up and laughs, telling them that he'll be back to ask again later.

This goes on throughout the day. Roman comes in to ask, Davin says no, and they get hurt. There are times when Davin wants so badly to say yes, just to make it stop, but he can't. He won't. He has to be strong.

The sun goes down again and Davin and Spencer are huddled together again, and Davin's hand is still the worst injury. His fingers and knuckles are turning purple and the last time Roman was in the room, he reminded Davin that none of his potions would work on injuries that are already healed, and that the clock is ticking, and that it would be really hard to work on cars with a mangled hand.

He's trying not to think about that, but it's hard, and he presses his face against Spencer's uninjured shoulder. His eyes are burning with tears and he shuts them tight, letting out shuddering breaths. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Davin says it over and over, clinging to Spencer as he tries once more to pull his magic to the surface. A slight buzz ripples through his skin and then disappears, and Davin knows that it's trying. His magic wants to protect him, and it's getting angry. He's becoming more aware of it, but he still can't use it.

"I'm getting stronger," Davin tells him in a rough, raspy voice. "I'm tryin', Spencer. I swear t'god I'm tryin'."

[doublethepain]

Every time Spencer wakes up from a sleep, the first thing he feels is guilt over the fact that he'd left Davin alone in any way, alone to think on their situation on his own while he's suffering from a concussion that Spencer should be paying closer attention to because he knows how dangerous they can be. He'd suffered three within the past year alone--four, if he counts his incident during the fairy tale spell--and each time had been a little bit more frightening than the last because he always lets himself wonder just how much more his body can take before it decides to give up on him. It hasn't yet, which he mostly thinks is due to the potions Joel gives him rather than any actual medical attention he's received, but he doesn't tell the nurses that anymore because the last time he'd tried to say he could get better help at home, they'd only glared. To be quite fair, they likely hadn't realized that what he'd get was magic so he supposes he can't blame them.

All of this, all of these thoughts are just a distraction, of course. Days after they'd been taken--and he knows it's been days because he's watched the sun rise and set three times now with a heart growing ever wearier--he'll take anything over having to look at Davin's mangled hand or acknowledge his own injured shoulder and battered body. Roman won't kill them, he keeps trying to tell himself this, but Spencer doesn't know how true that will be from one day to the next. Eventually, Roman is surely bound to tire of this. He'll decide to find someone else because if Davin and his grandmother are capable of doing this spell, there must be others out there who can do it, too. He can find someone else's powers he wants, another couple of sacrifices for his own greater good, and that will make it very easy for him to be willing to dispose of them.

He knows he should't think that way, and Spencer has been refusing to let himself since they'd been taken but it's getting harder. The only thing keeping him together is the dream; or rather, the reality that had merely taken place in his mind because he knows that seeing Joel and Coop hadn't just been a figment of his desperately exhausted and pained imagination. He wants nothing more in the world than to see his husband walk through that door every time Roman opens it, but he also knows that he hadn't been able to give much information when his husband and Coop had asked. He'd wanted to, he'd wanted to so badly, but it'd almost felt like there was a block in his mind each time he'd tried to reveal Roman's name. Still, he'd managed to show them Roman's face, he'd managed to tell Joel that they're in a warehouse that can't be far from town and about the books Roman had bought from Crossroads, and Spencer hopes that will be enough.

Even if James weren't an officer, Spencer would have faith solely because his husband has promised him that he'd find him. Joel always does, no matter what, no matter where they are or what world they're in, and Spencer holds that knowledge very close to his heart. The bare place on his finger where he usually wears his ring feels so strange without the cool metal against his skin, and he keeps finding himself tracing the shape of it over and over again as he continues to reassure himself and Davin that they'll be found soon. Maybe he'll get a tattoo of it, he thinks, a second permanent symbol on his body that represents their love and marriage because god, it hurts to see the ring gone. It hurts more, he thinks, than his shoulder or ribs or jaw, more than anything Roman could ever do to him because this pain runs much deeper, straight to his heart that longs to be in his husband's arms again.

His second beacon of hope, coming a full day after the dream he's already told Davin about, is the news that his friend's magic seems to be returning to him. Whether that means the wards are starting to weaken or Davin is simply powerful enough to overcome them, Spencer doesn't know, but he also doesn't care because if they can have this, if Davin can get his powers working again, it might very well be their best chance of getting out of here. Roman hasn't come back for the evening yet, and Spencer hopes he decides to leave them be--though he doesn't think that will be the case, at least not if his pattern of every night previous is anything to go by--but at least until then, he manages to push himself up to his knees to show Davin that he's more alert.

"You can do it," he murmurs softly, encouragingly. "You're stronger than him, Davin, than anything he could ever do, that's why he wants you here. You hold his future in his hands and aren't you the one who slayed a dragon?" Spencer smiles softly, though it wavers when his eyes flicker to Davin's hand. "We can fix it. I promise, we can fix it. Last year, when I was-- I was taken from home by someone who wanted to hurt Joel, and he broke my fingers. Three of them. It took time but with Joel's potions..." He trails off, holding his left hand up and wiggling his fingers. "I'm okay now. We're going to be okay, and they're going to come for us. We just have to keep fighting."

[davin]

Davin manages to keep it together until Spencer acknowledges his hand, and then he lets out a soft sob. It just hurts so bad and he's so scared, but he sucks in a breath and nods. He doesn't mention that without his magic that dragon would have killed him, even though it's true. "You're right," he says in a rough voice, reaching up to touch Spencer's uninjured arm with his good hand and give it a gentle squeeze. "We will, Spencer. I'll keep fightin'. We're gonna be okay."

He nods and sways a little, turning to fall back on his ass and lean against the wall. He hasn't been sleeping, too afraid of his head injury and simply unable to rest, and it's catching up with him. They both look like they've been chewed up and spit out by a horror movie, and Davin is just so, so tired, but he knows that he can't give up.

"I just need a little rest," he says quietly, and it comes out a little like a slur. There's worry in his eyes when he looks at Spencer, and he swallows hard as he turns in slightly towards Spencer's side. He hasn't felt warm in days and his teeth chatter slightly as he leans against Spencer's good side and closes his eyes. "When we get outta here, I'm drinkin' so much fuckin' coffee."

Davin finally drifts off curled up against Spencer, and he's woken up by the lingering remnants of a nightmare. He's tense all over and when he jerks awake, it's like fire through his body. He's fairly certain the same ribs he had broken before Christmas are cracked again, and he can barely see out of one eye.

He's just so fucking angry, and he reaches up to rub his good hand over his face. It hurts, thanks to all the cuts and bruises, and he pulls it away with a sigh. Spencer is sleeping and Davin carefully pulls himself into a standing position as he begins to pace quietly.

Spencer's right. He killed a fucking dragon. His magic was strong enough to poke holes in Nerium's spell. He got his memories back just because he wanted them and now? He really fucking wants his magic.

His heart is pounding away in his chest and suddenly everything rattles, just a little bit. The bars in the windows, the steel rafters overhead, they all quake and tremble. It's not even enough to wake Spencer, but Davin lets out a breathless laugh and holds up his hand. A single spark dances on the tip of his finger for less than a second, but Davin saw it. And sometimes that's all it takes, isn't it?

Just one little spark.

[just_another]

To his credit, Joel waits a significant amount of time before he panics. An hour after Spencer is supposed to be back, he calls his cell and when he gets no answer, he calls Davin's. There's no answer there either and so he forces himself to wait, he literally sits on his hands in their kitchen for another thirty minutes before he tries them both again.

When he goes upstairs and tries a locator spell using one of Spencer's shirts, he's relatively calm. It isn't at all like when Mark had taken Spencer because Joel is absolutely certain that such a thing couldn't happen again and he's only doing this because he worries. He cuts his palm with his pocket knife, draws a map on the shirt and then waits, but nothing happens. The familiar little spark doesn't glow, there's nothing to indicate Spencer is anywhere in Siren Cove and Joel's leaning over the shirt, trying to see what he's done wrong when the whole thing just sort of crumples. The blood he's painted on the shirt goes black and the material curves in on itself like its been burned, but there's been no flame. And that's when Joel knows something is really wrong. That's when he panics.

By the time he reaches Davin's garage, his heart is hammering in his chest and not because he'd run the entire way. He calls both cell phones again and it's standing outside the garage door that he realizes he can hear Davin's phone ringing inside and that doesn't make a damn bit of sense.

He doesn't think. He scoops up a sizable rock from nearby and drives it into the window beside the door. Somewhere in the back of his panicked mind, he realizes he's going to have to replace that window when it turns out everyone is fine -- because everyone has to be fine -- and he almost laughs out loud. He'll leave Davin a note, an IOU scrawled on a piece of paper so he doesn't have to stop looking for them.

The window shatters and he sticks his arm through the hole to unlock the door, scraping his hand against the shards of glass in the process. And inside it's empty. There's no one here. Joel searches the front room easily, then moves onto the garage and the second he sees his car he knows this is a crime scene, but that doesn't stop him from walking toward it. Toward what is clearly blood. For a second he feels like he's going to collapse, but he keeps going, moving until he finds Davin's cell phone and he scrolls through the contacts until he can find the number for James Thorton. They don't know each other at all, the only thing Joel knows about him is that he and Davin are together, but he doesn't hesitate to call him.

The call is brief, Joel tells him something to wrong, to get to the garage, people are missing, and then he ends the call and leans heavily against the wall and wills himself not to cry. To do something.

But there's nothing left for him to do.

[nomadic_cam]

Cam pulled up to the garage and took off his helmet. His first thought had been to call the cops about the silent alarm going off, but then he decided to just swing by the place and check things out first. No sense scrambling the boys and blue because a stray cat had gotten adventurous or something.

When he saw the broken glass, though, he pulled out his phone and had 9-1-1 programmed in with his thumb hovering over the send button. Just in case.

"Hello?" he called out and wished, not for the first time, that he'd thought to bring some kind of weapon.

[just_another]

"Davin?" Joel calls , his voice hoarse with worry, though he knows the second the other man speaks that he isn't Davin. The voice isn't remotely familiar and he realizes a second later that he'd broken into the garage. Of course there's an alarm on it, something to notify Davin or his employees that the glass had been broken.

It had been a stupid move. Now all he can do is hope he can talk his way out of being arrested. Davin is a friend and provided everything is okay, Joel is sure he won't press charges. But everything has to turn out to be okay first.

"Sorry," he says, pushing away from the wall and swallowing hard. "I broke a window. I was trying to call Davin and I could hear his phone ringing inside. Something happened to him."

And Spencer. But he doesn't know this man and he's sure he doesn't know Spencer either. There's no reason for him to care about the two of them. Davin, though, is someone he knows.

[nomadic_cam]

If he hadn't known the guy on sight from seeing him and his partner around town, Cam would have probably held his story with a little more skepticism, but when he called his boss' number and heard the familiar ringtone as well, that was all the confirmation he needed.

"Well." Cam searched for the right word and settled on the only one that felt right. "Fuck."

[just_another]

"I called James. Uh... Thorton," Joel says. He knows that isn't the same as having called the police, but he imagines it's close enough, especially in a place like Siren Cove. The word will get around, he expects James will take care of reporting it for him. Soon enough this place will be swarming with police officers and Joel wants to be long gone by then. He doubts he'll get his way, but he just wants to find Spencer.

"You work here, right? Is there any other number Davin has, any place you think he might be?" he asks. "He was working on my car, he... my husband was with him."

He wants to know he knows he shouldn't have broken the window. He wants to be able to apologize. He wants to be able to say something, but his throat works and nothing comes out, so he stops trying.

[nomadic_cam]

Cam thought about it for a few minutes, then shook his head. "The only other place I know he frequents is that bar, Watersong. At least, when we took him there for his birthday, I got the impression he spent a good deal of time there. Other than that, I mean, he's my boss but we don't talk about much outside the cars we're working on, or the cars we most want to work on, that kind of thing."

One hand slid over Cam's face, then through his hair. "And I'm being about as helpful as a case of poison ivy on the ass. Sorry, man."

[just_another]

There's no way Spencer and Davin have gone to a bar, not when Spencer isn't answering his phone and Davin's here is in the garage where there's been some kind of altercation, but Joel is desperate right now and he calls Watersong anyway. He hasn't been there himself in a long time, but he's close enough with Lara that they still know who he is when he calls and they know who he's looking for.

Neither of them are there. Not that he's surprised.

He feels numb and he blinks at the other guy. "I'm sorry I broke the window," he says. It's the only thing he can think to say. James should be here soon, he'll help, he'll figure it out. "I'll replace it."

[nomadic_cam]

"Hey, no apologies necessary. I don't think Davin will be too upset either, given that I can see him doing the same if someone he cared about was missing. And don't worry about replacing the window. I'll get that taken care of and keep an eye on the garage. I just wish I could do more to help, like give you an idea of where to look."

It was disconcerting that someone he knew was missing - he'd never gone through that before. When his parents plane had gone down, he hadn't known any of it until after the bodies had been recovered.

[just_another]

"I'm just... I'm going to..." He points at a chair. He needs to sit down and somehow figure out what his next step is going to be. The locator spell hadn't worked and that's terrifying to him because it should. He's far from an expert, but he's good enough that he can do a simple spell and that's generally all that's needed when trying to find someone. Even if Spencer is no longer in Siren Cove, something should have happened.

Joel all but collapses into the chair, then runs a hand through his hair. "There's blood in the garage," he says, his voice flat. He isn't sure why he'd waited until now to say it.

[nomadic_cam]

Cam was halfway to the small garage fridge to get the guy a bottle of water when he dropped the bomb about finding blood in the garage. His steps only faltered for a second before he continued, grabbed the water and returned to him, offering the bottle.

"Normally I'd say that's not uncommon. I can't count the times I've cut myself working on an engine, but it's rarely enough to leave blood behind. How much was there?"

He was almost afraid of the answer, even as he looked towards the garage itself.

[just_another]

Joel lifts his gaze at that, his brow creasing, because it's not uncommon isn't the answer he'd been expecting. He takes the bottle, but doesn't open it, more bewildered than anything. What he needs is for James to get here or for the police to arrive or for someone to start treating this place like a crime scene. He wants to see police tape and evidence bags, he wants people who are going to find his husband.

"Enough," he says, his voice still low. "More than might have spilled if someone had just cut themselves."

[nomadic_cam]

Cam rubbed a hand at the back of his neck. He'd been afraid of that. "You said you called the cops, right? Someone named James?"

He didn't like the sound of 'enough' as far as blood spilled on the garage floor and either the other guy was getting to him or real worry for his boss was starting to set up residence along his spine.

[jamesthorn]

When Joel's call comes into his cellphone, James is still at work even though he should already be on his way home so that he can get dressed for dinner. There's a mountain of paperwork on his desk, and he hates leaving in the middle of a project. But it is his birthday, and he's supposed to meet Davin at his place in about an hour and a half for a celebratory dinner. Now he isn't one to fuss over his age, but he is looking forward to it. However, two weeks away trapped in fairytale land had left a terrible amount of work in its wake. There mayor was missing, and there were witnesses saying they saw a giant---a literal giant---step on him. And that was in and of itself a headache for all of them. There were teams out searching, but so far no one could account for the man.

Despite being busy, when Davin's name pops up on the screen, he smiles and takes the call. Quickly he realizes that the voice on the other end is not someone he recognizes and is definitely not Davin. There is undeniable panic in the man's voice, and James shuts down all of his work, grabs his bag, and heads out.

He is across town at the garage in less than fifteen minutes, feeling a little antsy. Why was someone else calling from Davin's phone? Who is missing? But by the time he pulls up, there is a dread that's fallen over him. If people are missing, why wouldn't Davin call him himself? Is Davin missing? Calmly, though, he exits the car and marches up to the garage door, taking note of the broken window and glass covering the concrete.

"Hello?" he calls out carefully, kind of glad that he brought his gun, because now he considers taht this could be a trap or something. That possibility is less likely once he enters the garage and sees the scene. There's blood. Stomach dropping as he lowers his gun, he looks around for the man that called him and spots Joel, looking as worried as James suddenly feels. "What's going on?"

[just_another]

For a period of time while he waits for James to arrive, Joel wonders if maybe this is all some kind of terrible dream. Or a punishment for something he's done, some continuation of the horror he'd faced with Mark. He remains hunched against the wall, Davin's phone in his hand, his shoulders curled in and he tries not to look at the blood. There's a wrench on top of his car, there's blood on it, too, and he doesn't know if it belongs to Davin or Spencer, but it really doesn't matter in the end. They're both gone. They're likely both hurt. And they both need to come back.

"James?" he ask, because although they've never met, it's hard not to know the Thortons in this town. Davin hasn't shared a lot of information with Joel about their relationship, but he knows his friend seems happy and the second he thinks that, his chest is seized by a terrible ache that takes a long moment to subside.

"I-I don't know what happened," he says when he can speak again. "Spencer... m-my husband was supposed to be home almost two hours ago. He brought my car here for Davin to work on. He's not home. He's not answering his phone. I called Davin, but..." He holds Davin's phone out for James to see.

"I broke the window. I know I-I shouldn't have, but I heard the phone ringing in here and I..." He shakes his head, then looks at James imploringly. He's a detective, he should be able to fix this. "There's blood. And my car is still here."

[jamesthorn]

Based on the information Joel gives him, James knows that Davin's phone is now evidence, that they are standing in the middle of a crime scene. But there's part of him that doesn't want to believe anything Joel just said, even though he can see the blood on the cement himself. After everything with Nerium, they had just gotten back to normal.

He takes the phone from Joel, searching through the last few messages and sees the log of missed calls. "Alright. Okay," James says slowly placing the phone on the hood of the car. Really he is freaking out, but he is trained to handle situations like this one and something close to instinct puts him into auto-pilot.

"I don't understand. Is your husband capable of defending himself? Does he have enemies?" James steps around trying to make sense of the scene surrounding them. He considers that Davin's been attacked here before but the guys that did that were in jail. Besides that, it's hard to fathom who could've done this. A week ago, James witnessed Davin kill a dragon with his powers...

He doesn't know who to call to ask about magic. Maybe Riley.

[just_another]

Joel chokes out a laugh at that and waves his hand toward the street outside. It's an angry laugh and he hates that he has to say this, but it's the truth. It's the honest answer to James' question and Joel feels a tight, hot flare of rage as he realizes this really could be the work of someone who's still angry over Dane and Vera. He'd done his best to keep the letters away from Spencer on his birthday -- on the anniversary of their deaths -- and while he's sure there were fewer than there's been other years, there was still enough letters to make him sick.

"I'd say there's still a fair number of people in this town who think he killed his family, so when it comes to enemies you probably have your pick," he says as he fumbles toward a chair so he can sit down. His legs are shaking and weak and he doesn't know what to do, but at least James is asking question. Whether or not they're questions Joel can answer is another thing entirely.

"Spencer's not... he isn't a fighter," Joel says. "He would if he had to, he's strong, he'd defend himself, but if someone was threatening to hurt Davin..." He knows Spencer wouldn't let that happen and he shakes his head as he closes his eyes as he wills himself not to cry. Not now.

[jamesthorn]

"I've seen Davin defend himself. I honestly don't know anyone that could---" James can't finish what he's saying. Every single bad scenario is beginning to flash in front of his eyes. Something really bad happened to Davin and to Spencer. He manages to take a few breathes to calm himself, but he realizes that he isn't going to be able to do this without back-up. Someone who can focus, who doesn't feel like they may fall apart, because the look on Joel's face says it all.

He remembers the scandal with Spencer and his family, how everyone thought the shy librarian were a murderer. But James is a cop. He didn't work the case, but as far as he was concerned, it doesn't matter. "I don't know if this is about your husband," James says honestly. "I don't see how they made it out of here without Davin electrocuting them. But if they came prepared...."

Then James definitely needs some backup.

[just_another]

They came prepared. They knew what to expect out of Davin, they knew how to use him to get Spencer to comply with their wishes. Somehow they knew what Davin could do and they knew that Spencer would never let his friend be hurt if he could help it. It's someone who's been watching them, if nothing else. It makes Joel sick and furious all at once and he braces his hands against his knees and then looks up again and catches sight of something glinting on the floor of the garage.

He shouldn't go in there, he knows he shouldn't, but he gets up anyway and goes to it because he knows before he even gets close what it is.

Spencer's ring is on the floor of the garage. Dropped. Left behind. For him.

"He left his ring," he gasps, grabbing for it and he knows this is a crime scene, but he hasn't touched the car or the wrench or the blood. "This is Spencer's wedding ring, he hasn't taken it off since we got married, he left it for me to find. Something bad happened to them."

[jamesthorn]

"Look, we don't know what happened---" James isn't sure whether he says that for himself or for Joel, but he can't just assume that Davin is hurt or kidnapped or worse. He can't do that. It already feels like the walls of the room are slowly closing in, where his chest hurts a little, like something has come and knocked the wind away. Just when he thought everything was okay again. Just when Davin came back and now he's gone.

He eyes the ring in Joel's hand. "If he was aware enough to leave the ring then that's a good sign," he says pulling out his phone. "I'm gonna call this in. I need. I don't know how much I can do alone." Probably not enough. He dials into the station reporting the crime scene and possibility of a kidnapping and asking for back-up. He doesn't tell the dispatcher that he has a personal connection to the victim, but he'll have to when they arrive.

"We'll find them," he assures Joel after he hangs up and gives him a pat on the arm, knowing that isn't going to help, because he feels like nothing is going to help until he sees Davin safe. "If Davin were in trouble with people, I feel like he would've told me. You really think someone wants to hurt your husband?"

[just_another]

Joel can hear that James is speaking to him and he knows he should be paying attention, but he's just staring down at the ring in his palm. The light glints off the edges softly and if he closes his eyes and concentrates he can imagine that it's still warm from being on Spencer's finger, but he knows that's just his imagination. It's been lying on the cold concrete of the garage for long enough that it can't possibly have retained any of his husband's warmth.

It is a sign, though, he's sure of that. He was meant to find it and he clutches the ring desperately in his palm when James pats his arm, then finally looks up at him. The question registers, though just barely, and he pauses, giving himself some time to think about it. There are people in this town who don't like Spencer, he knows that, but he isn't sure if any of them would be willing to hurt him.

"Eli Jasper," he says. "He's been physically aggressive toward Spencer before. He pushed him at Coop's... Shea Cooper's birthday party. When I tried to get him to leave Spencer alone he followed me outside and attacked me. We were both arrested." It's a small town and James is a detective. If he doesn't know that already, he's sure to find it out with ease. "I haven't seen him since then, but I know he hates Spencer. And there's a man named Mark Fuller who hates me. He's tried to hurt Spencer before. I don't think he had anything to do with this, though, he's... it's about revenge. He wouldn't have tried to hurt Davin."

[jamesthorn]

There's part of James that can't help the mild anger he feels about the fact that Davin's in trouble because of someone else. That whatever happened to him is because of Joel and Spencer. But he knows rationally that's only because Davin is so important to him. Davin being in any type of danger is the worst thing he can think of, no matter whose fault it is. He knows Davin would want him to help his friends, and he has no choice. He needs Joel's information if he's going to find his boyfriend and bring him home in one piece. That's all James cares about right now.

"Okay," he says, patting Joel on the shoulder again. "Okay. We'll find them. I just need you to think if there's anything else that's happened lately that was strange. Any weird phone calls? Visitors?"

[just_another]

"Some letters on his birthday," Joel says and there's a flare of anger when he speaks. The thought that anyone in this town has taken it upon themselves to write threatening letters to Spencer on his birthday makes him sick, but the thought that they might have taken it further than that makes him furious. "People who still think he killed his parents. I got rid of them, though, I didn't want him seeing them. He said he gets them every year, I didn't think anyone would do something like this."

That was stupid of him, he sees it now.

"No calls or visitors, but I have a ward on the house." It means people must be invited in by either him or Spencer, but it also keeps out people who wish to do harm on the house or its inhabitants out on the street. No one can come to the house if they want to cause trouble.

[jamesthorn]

A ward?

James eyes advert to the ground as he processes what Joel said. In a town filled with witches and the fact that he's dating one, magic shouldn't come as a surprise, but it does cause him to pause for a moment, to learn that Joel is a witch too. He already could've guessed that whoever managed to take Davin down had powers of their own. He just hates feeling like he can't protect the people that mean the most to him. He hates feeling like he doesn't have any control.

He lets it go though as he turns back to Joel. "So you wouldn't be able to find those letters again?" he asks hopefully. "It may help us find a lead. The cops will come in here. See if they find any fingerprints. Blood." He looks down at the red stain in the middle of the room with a blank stare. He doesn't know whose blood that is and that scares him. "But we'll need more. I'll go up to Davin's. Just see if maybe there was something he didn't tell me."

[just_another]

"I... I can look," Joel says, but he's sure they're all gone. The thought about going home and having to look for the letters makes his stomach clench tight and for a second he thinks he might be sick. But then he nods and looks down at his shaking hands. "I'll look."

There isn't much else he can do. He's tried locator spells, he's called the police, he's made a report, he's looked everywhere Spencer might be. His next step is doing whatever James tells him and when he gets home he'll call his mother and see if she has any suggestions. She's a more powerful witch than he is, maybe she'll be able to help him figure something out.

"Can you call me?" he asks. "If you find anything? I just... I don't know..." He stops and shakes his head again. "I don't know what to do."

[jamesthorn]

The misery in Joel's voice hits a hard place inside of him, a place that is raw and hurting as it sinks in that once again Davin has been taken from him. That he's in danger and possibly hurt, and James has no clue how or where to begin to find him. It hurts as he watches the misery on Joel's face because he understands.

He lays a hand on Joel's shoulder, reassuring him in a tone that sounds more like when he's consoling a victim's family. "We're gonna do everything we can. I promise," he says. "We will find them. I'll call you as soon as I can. I need to wait here for the team to show up. They will have questions."

"I'll tell 'em I took your statement if you...if you think you need to leave." He understands this is hard. "I'm not sure who'll be working the case, but I'll give you a heads up before they call you down to the station."