Page 113 of Relevant Law

Joshua smiled and rose, tilting his head toward the dance floor. “I put some money in the jukebox on the way in,” he said, then took Colin’s hand and drew him to his feet. “I think one of our songs is about to play.” He took a step backward, leading Colin to the floor as the first strains of “We Can Last Forever”echoed through the pub…

… and they danced.

* * *

The End

Epilogue

The grand jury returned a true bill of indictment finding on Lukas Page. He was arraigned and indicted on multiple charges stemming from Joshua’s kidnapping and that of the other three victims. His sister hired a defense attorney, and a preliminary trial date was set for just after the first of the year.

Colin and Joshua both continued the slow process of healing from the emotional and physical injuries they had endured in the hours following Joshua’s abduction. The process was frustrating and lengthier than they had anticipated. They continued to see their therapist, Dr. Deena Mallory, both alone and in joint sessions.

Colin found the process difficult. His husband’s recent brush with death had re-awakened many of the feelings of grief and fear he experienced when his sister committed suicide. He alternated between a psychic numbing, where his mind pulled his emotions away from any thought of what he and Joshua had experienced, to moments of sudden and intense feelings that would unexpectedly rush over him, leaving him shaken and distraught.

Joshua was always able to calm and reassure his husband during those moments, helping him realize that such incidents were a powerful part of his healing process and had to be experienced to be dealt with in a healthy manner.

His own treatment had its ups and downs. He continued to suffer from fatigue for many months after his abduction, though his moments of memory loss and mood swings grew less and less frequent as time went on. He fought to remain calm and optimistic, refusing to allow Lukas Page to destroy the progress he had made in his lifelong pursuit of emotional and psychological health.

In the aftermath of their devastating experience, they came to realize with even greater clarity that the love they shared and the relationship they had built was their most powerful source of strength and healing.

They spent many weekends alone at David’s cabin, and in that refuge, cut off from the frenzied experiences of their workday world, they found peace and renewal in the beauty of nature and in each other. They walked in the woods, rode their mountain bikes, sat by the lake in deep conversation, and fell asleep wrapped in each other’s embrace.

The trauma of Joshua’s kidnapping and subsequent rescue would always be a part of their tapestry, one scarlet thread amidst many of paler hue. But as time passed, that thread faded into the background, blending with their many life experiences, becoming one more fragment in a garment composed of many fragments, each one adding to the whole its beauty, its strength, and its indomitable spirit.