6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Tolly

T olly felt shaken from his morning wake-up call. He had felt the loss of Leigh's warmth and reached out beneath the covers to find the line of his body only to discover emptiness. He had not meant to curl so small and deep within the blankets, though it had been soft and warm, much nicer than he expected. If he could have had such safety and comfort under the water, nothing would have been more perfect.

Before he could worry that Leigh was gone, he heard voices in the other room, a scuffle— trouble . He was up in seconds to go to Leigh's aid, but he nearly lost himself in the attack, swift and brutal like his instincts fell to so easily, even though he hated the part of himself that could snuff out human life without thought.

He was grateful Leigh had held him back, but he worried that some of his true form had come out. He could not risk that happening when Leigh could see him.

"I am not certain I understand what a parole officer is," Tolly said as they neared the woman's office at the Department of Corrections.

"You've never seen a movie with parole mentioned?" Leigh asked.

"Mentioned, yes, but only in passing, never fully explained."

"I served time for theft but got out early for good behavior. Beckett makes sure they didn't make a mistake. Keeps an eye on me, has me check in from time to time, that sort of thing. If I step out of line too much, a word from her could send me right back to jail."

"Ah, which is why you lie to her."

"Say that a little less loudly inside," Leigh hissed before opening the door to the building. "And let me do the talking. Follow my lead again, got it?"

"I understand."

Tolly was not a fan of this corrections facility, as it was very drab and lifeless, and no one seemed particularly happy to be there. The building was mostly small, however, and they reached the office of Tabitha Beckett quickly, even a few minutes early.

"Who says I don't deliver?" Leigh said with a wide, false smile. He was shaken from the morning too, his head in great pain. Tolly could feel it through their connection, despite the medication Leigh had taken before they left, but he hid it well, pushing on as any survivor must.

"The roommate's real, huh?" Tabitha stood from her desk to reach out to Tolly and shake his hand. "Tabitha Beckett. Pleasure to meet you."

"You as well, Miss Beckett. I am Tolly."

"Tolly what?"

Oh. Right. Leigh had two names. Most people did, some three or even more than that, but Tolly was simply Tolomeo.

"Allen," he said quickly, thinking of the actress from Indiana Jones . Certainly, Leigh was the Indie between them. "Tolly Allen."

"Planning a background check already?" Leigh said. "You won't find any records on him. Totally on the up and up. You looking for ID?"

"I'd be within my rights to ask," Tabitha said.

"Excessive, considering I haven't done anything."

She sighed.

"You're here to grill me , not Tolly." Leigh took a seat in one of the two chairs in front of her desk, so Tolly took the other.

"I must say, Miss Beckett," Tolly said, "I appreciate that you wish to keep Leigh out of trouble. I only wish the same."

"Oh?"

Tolly could feel Leigh's flare of concern that he was going off script, but he could sense that this woman had no hidden agenda. They need not be at odds. "Oh yes. He is a good man, and I enjoy staying with him. I would not want for him to go back to jail."

She was clearly used to reading people and must have been appeased by what she read in Tolly, because after a moment of sizing him up, she nodded. "All right. I can play ball. You got a roommate to keep you honest. Couldn't be happier. Now let's hear how that happened and what you've been up to."

As requested, Tolly let Leigh take the lead, amazed at how seamlessly he weaved a tapestry of mixed truths and lies about them meeting by the docks, Tolly needing a place to stay, and helping Leigh with chores around the apartment building.

"No pay stubs yet, they can't afford to offer me much as backup super, but I'm looking into other options now that I got some help with the rent."

"I'll expect a little more than that come next month before I sign off and you're free of me."

"I know. I'll blow your socks off, I'll be so straight and narrow." Leigh smirked, and she shook her head in amusement.

"Tolly, can you give us a minute?"

Tolly straightened. His instincts were to not let Leigh out of his sight, but he knew they were on safe ground, and he trusted Tabitha to want only what was best for Leigh. "Of course. I will return to the lobby so as not to disrupt anyone," he said to reassure Leigh, whose eyes flashed briefly in concern.

After excusing himself, Tolly moved down the hallway to find the chairs near the entrance. Just as he was coming around the last corner, however, he nearly ran headlong into a large man.

"Whoa! Sorry about that." The man grabbed Tolly's arms to keep them from knocking heads, the suddenness of being touched without permission nearly causing Tolly to flip him over his shoulder before he realized he knew him. "Hey. You were with Hurley yesterday."

It was the nicer of the detectives they had encountered. Tolly read only genuineness from him, but still he steeled himself for confrontation as he pulled from the man's grasp. "He is seeing his parole officer, Detective Horowitz."

"Good. That's good," Horowitz said. "Look, I know Nick—I mean, Detective Perez—is a bit of a hothead, but he just cares really strongly. I swear! He's from the same neighborhood as Hurley, and he hates seeing how it's devolved over the years to all this crime. He used to try to steer Hurley in a better direction, but the next thing he knew, we were hauling him off to jail. Really broke Nick up."

"I see," Tolly said, better understanding now why Perez had been so sharp. "It is like Leigh and Ralph."

"Ralph Abbott? That teenager who's only barely escaped juvie a few times?"

Much like the term "parole," while Tolly had heard of "juvie" in films before, he did not fully understand what it was, so he simply said, "I do not know any other Ralph. He is young and unsure of himself, and Leigh hopes to lead him down a better path."

"That's great!" Horowitz said with enthusiasm. "Having a hard time though, huh? Yeah, what goes around comes around. We're just trying to keep what's around to better things for the people here, you know? If you ever see anything…."

"I am sorry, Detective. I appreciate your concerns and goals, but I will not snitch . I will, however, continue to help Leigh do better. He is a good man. Ralph is a good boy. I do not want to see either of them in jail."

"I guess that's good enough," Horowitz said. "And hey, I know it's tough out there. I won't say anything to Beckett about seeing Hurley at Sweeney's. He was just exiting a building, after all. But you keep a good eye on him, okay? These are dangerous men, Sweeney and the Morettis."

"I understand, and I will endeavor to keep Leigh safe and away from all of them."

"That's all I wanted to hear."

Tolly was not sure how he was going to keep Leigh away from any of those villainous characters, but if the only way to keep him safe was their demise….

He hoped it never came to that.