Jack woke up to Lee jumping onto his bed the next morning. It scared him, causing to cry out in fright and sit straight up. Lee stared up at him with his small, brown eyes and giggled.

“What is it, Lee?” he asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

Lee yawned. “Someone is at the door,” he excitedly said. “I think it might be William! He looks like him, but he’s not wearing what he usually wears, and he doesn’t knock like William either.”

Jack was immediately awake as memories of the night before returned to him. William’s distress, William drunk, William stumbling dangerously down the street, William’s lips on his…

“Daddy, we have to answer the door,” Lee insisted.

Jack stood up. He realized he was still in his clothes from the day before, having been in too much of a daze to change into nightwear. He yawned and smoothed his hair down before going to the front room and answering the door.

Lee was right. It wasn’t William at the door. But the man at the door looked nearly identical to him. The man looked at Jack with kind, yet worried eyes. He wore a captain’s badge and had his head held high.

“Jack Winston?” the man asked, looking at him.

“That would be me,” Jack slowly confirmed, trying not to shrink against the door frame. Was this the brother that William was always talking about? If so, why was he here? What did he want? Where was William?

The man smiled apologetically. “My name is Captain Mathew Jameson,” he stated, introducing himself. “Have you by any chance seen Private William F. Reed in the past day?”

Jack’s heart skipped a beat. He struggled to find his voice. He knew he shouldn’t have let him walk alone last night! His head nodded, yet he still couldn’t find his voice. What had happened? Did he not make it back to the base?

Mathew breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little, almost as if a metric ton was literally lifted off of his shoulders. “Please,” he anxiously pleaded. “Please tell me everything you know!”

The Englishman swallowed the lump in his throat. “Very well,” he said, gesturing inside. “Please come in, Captain Jameson.” Mathew nodded and stepped in as Jack stared at him curiously, shutting the door. “How did you know I was associated with him?”

Mathew smiled warmly and got a look of fondness in his eyes. “William’s my younger brother,” he explained. “We’re all each other has left. And the night I came to his base, he sat on my bunk all night and told me all about you two.”

Jack smiled, imagining William talking to Mathew all night, while Mathew was trying to sleep. He imagined William sitting, still talking to Mathew after his brother drifted off to sleep, not even noticing. Then it hit him. William was missing. He didn’t make it back to the base last night.

“Captain Jameson, did William not make it back last night?” Jack asked, stomach sinking. He didn’t want to believe it. He prayed it wasn’t true.

Mathew shook his head, biting his lip. “Did he say or do anything weird yesterday?” he asked.

Jack glanced to his young son. “Lee, please go do your homework in your room,” he said, not wanting the boy to hear what had happened. He didn’t know how much he should tell Mathew, but knew that in order to find out what happened to William, he’d have to tell him.

Lee’s eyes widened with panic, knowing how serious it must be if his father was dismissing him. He nodded numbly and went to his room to do homework.

“Tell me, Captain Jameson, what all do you know about your brother and my family?” Jack softly asked, not daring to look at Mathew.

“That depends on how much you know about my brother,” Mathew simply stated.

“Meaning what?” the other man asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mathew sighed. “He’ll kill me for asking this, but what is the relationship between you two?”

Jack was quiet for a moment, trying to hold back the blush that wanted to spread across his cheeks. “We’re friends, of course,” he answered stiffly. “Nothing more than that.” He wasn’t sure if Mathew should know about the night before or not. But then again, why was Mathew asking about this in the first place?

“Did he do anything out of the ordinary last night?” the young Captain cautiously asked. He had to be careful when probing people for information, especially regarding their relationships with his brother. He learned many years ago to be very careful about things of that sort.

Jack stared at him for a moment. “What sort of thing are you asking about?” he asked, voice tinged with just as much caution as Mathew’s. “William is an eccentric person. Everything seems to be out of the ordinary when regarding him.”

Mathew smiled a little and nodded. “That’s very true,” he agreed. “It’s just that William is different than most men that I know.”

“Different?” Jack questioned, leaning more toward Mathew.

“Tell me what happened last night before I say anything more,” Mathew sighed. “I need to know everything he did before he left.”

The blond swallowed. “Very well,” he said. He proceeded to tell Mathew about their day yesterday and then about how William got drunk and began ranting. Mathew looked troubled when he was mentioned. “And then he…” Jack trailed off.

Mathew leaned toward him. “Go on,” he said, already suspecting what happened. “Jack, it’s important that I know what happened.”

Jack knew what happened to homosexual men, especially the ones in the military. He bit his lip, terrified of telling Mathew.

“He kissed you, didn’t he?” the other man finally asked, prompting it out of the other man.

Jack stared over at the Captain with wide eyes. “How did you…”

The young Captain looked down at the floor. “I’ve known about him for years now. My brother prefers men to women.” Jack’s heart skipped a beat. So William did intend to do that. “And being in the military means that he isn’t supposed to be that way. I’m the only one who knows.” He looked down. “And I knew how he felt about you.” His eyes met Jack’s once again. “How did you react?”

“I told him he was drunk,” Jack sheepishly admitted, looking down.

Mathew’s mouth drew into a tight line. “I see,” he said. “Which direction did he go in?”

Jack pointed down the street. “He went that way. I knew I should have walked with him!” The guilt was eating him alive. He was praying for William to be okay.

Mathew turned back to the door. “I have one last question for you,” he softly asked. “Did you kiss him back?”

The Englishman’s heart skipped a beat before he bit his lip, nodding. “I did,” he answered.

Mathew was very surprised by that answer. He gasped slightly. “Do you feel the same about him as he feels about you?”

Jack looked at his feet. He had been up all night, thinking about it. If he didn’t love William in that way, then he wouldn’t be dying for another taste of his lips. If he didn’t love William in that way, he wouldn’t be comparing him to Ming in his head. If he didn’t love William in that way, his heart wouldn’t hurt at the mention of anything bad happening to him. “I do,” he finally decided. His mind went in many different directions when he finally owned up to the feelings. It was too real. He was in love with a man.

Mathew turned to face Jack. “I-I-I see,” he stammered. He hadn’t expected Jack to openly answer in that way. “Then will it be alright if I bring him back here when I find him? I don’t want to take him back to the base if he’s in not-so-great condition.”

Jack nodded absently. “Would you like me to accompany you?” he asked.

The Captain shook his head. “I’d rather Lee not see him if he’s in the condition I think he’s in,” he admitted. “Please keep Lee occupied when I return.”

The other man was anxious to go. “I can call Victoria. She’ll be here within minutes.” He wanted to help find William.

Mathew weighed it out. “Very well,” he decided. “But get her here soon.”