InsaneJournal

Tuck, as it happened, had the very best family and friends in the entire world, he was sure of it. And they proved it time and time again, especially now that Will was gone and no one knew exactly how long for. Tuck hated that Will must be suffering terribly and there was nothing Tuck could do to ease that except work to get Will - and everyone else of course - out of that place.

They'd been taking it in shifts, Tuck was sure of it. Francis had all but moved into the parsonage while Will was gone, but Tuck was never without either his son or his daughter, or one of the other Merry Men. They all kept his spirits up and kept him from going loopy. At least as well as anyone could! They made him eat, even thought it was difficult. Tuck knew Will must be so hungry, and he felt terrible eating when Will couldn't. Though he did occasionally pray to Francis to tell him he'd had a big feed. It was easier for Tuck to eat then. There was less guilt involved.

It also helped to know that if Tuck lost himself, Will would be incredibly upset. So instead of giving in to grief, Tuck threw himself into arrangements. There had to be somewhere to go for the men in the ring, once they were free. He had spent time setting up the Cedar room in his church as a shelter, putting in cots and little drawer sets. It was a place to start from anyway, until they figured out somewhere for everyone to go, or got everyone home where they belonged. Tuck spent long hours preparing huge meals which he put in the freezer so they were ready immediately when they were needed. The money they had gotten from robbing Codeine would help get the prisoners back on their feet, or buy bus or plane tickets. Anything that was needed, really.

And there was the activism too. Henry, Addy, Iestyn and Lachlan had been around nearly every day, to help with arrangements. Tuck had called several diverse churches in Tennessee until he found one that would partner with him. They they set up a host family system, so if anyone in Tennessee needed to travel for gender affirming care, they could stay with one of Tuck's parishioners, and receive the care they needed in New York. The foursome had helped with phone calls to doctors and surgeons, as well as various charities to make sure it was all above board and legit. The fact that something like this was necessary was fucking stupid. But Tuck was proud of what they had achieved.

And sitting in the freezer of the parsonage, was one perfect lasagna. Will had requested it before he had even gone into the fighting ring, and Tuck had made it perfectly. The pasta was handmade, the Italian sausage was flavoured from scratch, and he had used ricotta, as well as a perfect roux. The tomato sauce had been so herby and flavourful. The entire dish was just ready to put in the oven and bake. It was just waiting on Will.

Tuck closed the door behind his son as Daniel left for the day, and then he turned back to Francis who immediately pressed a mug of tea into his hands. "Well that was thoughtful, thank you, Frannie," he said, sipping it a little.

"Michael, you need to sit down," Francis pointed to the sofa, the expression on his face imperious. Francis was right, too. Tuck had been up and about all day, cleaning the church and putting sheets on all the cots, and making sure everything was just right. Then he had spent time with the Ceredigs and Lachlan, painting signs. Then he had had a wonderful dinner with Daniel and his two granddaughters. He'd barely had time to breathe. But less time to breathe was better. It meant less time to think. To miss Will.

"Alright, alright, don't fuss," Tuck said, carrying his tea over to the sofa.

"Says the fussiest man on the planet," Francis shot back, amused. He moved to sit as well, and Flora immediately leapt into Francis' lap.

"Look at you, traitor," Tuck said to Flora, but his voice held such affection, it was clear he was joking. He let out a deep groan as his muscles relaxed a little. "Well alright, maybe you had a point, Frannie. Sitting certainly has it's upsides."

"Yes, you should always listen to me," Francis joked. Then he got a little quieter as he said, "you're doing amazing work, Michael. Really. It will mean so much to so many people. Will would be so proud of you." He buried his fingers in Flora's fur and scratched her ears as she sat there, looking blissed out.

"Fran-" Tuck didn't know quite what to say to that. Francis always went for heartfelt, so he wasn't surprised to hear something like that from him. He just hadn't been expecting it right then. "That's very kind of you to say." Silently, he hoped Will would be proud of him for a great many things. For the fact that he hadn't let Will's absence shut him down. That he'd kept going. Of what he and the others had accomplished. "He doesn't say it much," Tuck admitted. "Not with words anyway. But I know he is. God I miss him. He would be taking the piss right now, me getting so maudlin."

"I'm not sure that's true," Francis chuckled. "I am pretty sure if he were here and you were in there, he would be feeling maudlin too. He might not show it the same way you do, but he's gaga over you."

Tuck smiled to himself, lowering his gaze a little. "I know," he said softly. "I really know he is." They had had a bumpy road to get to where they were, but where they stood now was solid and safe. "I-"

"We have to make plans," Michael interjected, causing both Francis and Tuck to jump, since they hadn't even realised Michael had materialsed there out of nowhere. Tuck's hands jerked back and he spilled tea all down his front, before gasping in pain.

"What the fuck!" he hissed, and Michael looked hangdog.

"Oh- Oh, sorry," Michael glanced at Francis, who just smiled and shook his head. "I'll get you some hot chocolate, sir, take a seat," he said to the angel, who complied.

Tuck grumbled and pulled a blanket over himself, as he could feel the tea cooling, soaking into his jeans. "We need to plan?" he said again, his lips a little thin.

Michael looked like he wanted to keep apologising, but he was also sure if he did, Tuck was going to snap at him, so he just forged ahead. "The intel Will got was that the leaders of this ring show up every two weeks. And if that's true, they should be showing up soon. Which means the best way to figure out who they are, is for one of us to attend a fight. I would, but as you could expect, I am not so good at undercover work..."

That lifted the corners of Tuck's mouth in a small smile. "I can do it," he said, nodding.

"It would mean attending a fight night," Michael cautioned. "Which could mean-"

Tuck's stomach felt iced over, but he sounded firm when he said, "if Will can go through hell to save these people, I am not going to shy away from seeing it. I respect the man I love more than that. And I believe in what we're doing. I can do it," he said, inviting no other arguments. "I'll borrow some fancier clothes, and slip in. We just have to figure out how to take photos or something."

"Ben has us covered there," Michael explained. "If you're sure about this-"

"I'm sure," Tuck said, nodding firmly. Was he looking forward to seeing Will fight for his life? No. But catching a glimpse of the man he loved for the first time in weeks...giving him a signal of hope? That was worth it. "I want to end this. For everyone's sake. I won't fuck it up."

"Of course you won't," Francis said, walking back in. He was carrying a hot chocolate for Michael, and a change of clothes for Tuck. "Here, love," he said, handing the clothes over. "I, for one, think you're the perfect choice to go in and get the last bit of intel we need. Then we can start taking them down from the top, right?" he asked the angel.

"Correct," Michael nodded. "The police squad are just waiting to be pointed in the right direction.

"That's amazi-" Francis cut himself off and he held up one finger, his sign these days, that Will was telling him something. Tuck sat forward a little, eager for news. And when Francis chuckled a little, Tuck was just glad it didn't seem like bad news. "Sorry, that was Will. He said, and I quote, ' tell Tuck when we get out, we’re having fried chicken and waffles and real maple syrup, the kind you can only get from the Canadian syrup cartel. I mean the good shit. Favour for a friend, you get it. Oh, and apple pie for afters'."

Tuck's smile lit up his entire face, "oh my William. He must be talking about his cellmate Elijah there. Of course I'll make them both chicken and waffles. With the best maple syrup." Just hearing from Will made Tuck's chest all warm and he felt a little ridiculous about it. Not enough for it to bother him. "Canadian syrup cartel. Oh, I love that man."

"None of us could tell," Francis joked. "You want a late night snack, Michael? There's pie?"

"Oh! Pie!" the angel looked excited, and Tuck finally smiled at him, forgiving Michael for scaring him and causing a tea accident.

"You should definitely have pie. I'll go change, and then we can plan the next step together. It's the last step, right? Once I do that, and the police go and do their bit, we can get my Will out?"

"It's the last step," Michael promised.

Tuck grinned and he rose from the sofa, feeling lighter than he had in a long time. Will would be home with him so soon! Not long now!