Fandom:	Houston Knights
Series:	Alternate Universe/ Made Man
Rating:	NC17
Pairing:	Joe/Levon
Archive:	Starwinder's
Title:	Burning
Author:	Starwinder
e-mail:	starwinder2of7@gmail.com
Standard Disclaimer: Houston Knights belongs to Jay Bernstein and Michael Butler and Columbia Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This is fan fiction, written out of love for the shows. I am making no money off this. I have no money so please don't sue me. Any original characters who may appear in these stories are the property of the author.

I wake up in the hospital. Takes me a minute to remember what happened to put me here. [Warehouse ... explosion ... Joe! Where's Joe?] I try to sit up. Some one pushes me back on the bed.

"Easy, Levon." It's Joanne's voice.

I force my eyes open and look at her. She looks most as bad as I feel. "Joe?" I croak.

She misunderstands, thinks I'm asking is that her.

"Yeah," she smiles. "I'm here, Lundy. You had a nasty crack on the head. Were unconscious when we found you."

"Where?"

"You're in the hospital."

"No. Found me where?"

"Lying outside the warehouse." She seems to realize finally that some water might help me talk and gets the glass and gives me some.

"What happened? Where's Joey?" It's easier to talk now.

"Joey?" she asks, puzzled.

"Joe LaFiamma."

She doesn't understand my concern, but tries to answer the question. "He wasn't among the ones we rounded up. The warehouse is still burning. The fire department's there. They've found a couple of bodies so far. No one identifiable."

He didn't get out. I can't quite accept that. "Szabo?"

"He and his partner were staking out the warehouse. I don't know why. They called for back up as soon as Valdez arrived. The place exploded before anyone else got there. You're the only reliable witness we have, Levon. We're gonna have to know what happened. Soon as you feel up to a debriefing."

I lie back with a sigh. "I can't tell you much. Valdez and LaFiamma was arguing then somebody pulled a gun. There was an explosion, knocked me down. I hit my head and everything went black. I was in the warehouse, don't know how I got out."

She nods. "I see. Someone must have pulled you out ... but who?"

I wish I knew. If it was Joe that could mean he did get out.

It's a week later and I'm heading home to Houston. Not to stay. I'll be coming back to Chicago regularly to testify in all the trials. They're mostly just formalities. Joe's evidence was solid as a rock. He had both warehouses and several other meeting places wired for video and audio. Not to mention audio tapes of every meeting he was at with written transcripts to go along with them, that told who said what. Boy must have walked around wearing a wire for months. Most of the underlings just pleaded guilty when they found out what we had. Bunch of them are gonna testify in exchange for reduced sentences. It's the biggest roundup of organized crime figures in twenty years and all thanks to Joe.

Best part is that I'm almost certain that Joe's alive ... and if he's alive, sooner or later he'll let me know. Oh, they had a funeral. Uncle Mikey even gave me Joe's flag. Said Joe told him to. Said that Joe told him that he loved me. Said that as long as I held Joe in my heart he'd be alive.

Something about the way he said it, the way he looked at me when he said it, combined with a couple of other little things makes me think that maybe Joe is still alive ... and Uncle Mikey knows.

The other things ... well when I took Joanne and Szabo to the war room as Joe called it, the bed was made. Clean linens. Not the ones we stained. I know he didn't change them before we left. Don't think he had time to go back and do it between then and the meeting. Weren't nobody else supposed to know about that place. Also the manhole covers in both warehouses were locked from the bottom. Don't think that Joe would've failed to provide himself with an emergency exit like in the first meet. He was too aware of the dangers.

On the plane, I sleep most of the way home, waking up when they announce that we'll be landing in about fifteen minutes. It's funny but I wake up with the strangest feeling that Joe is nearby. Never felt anything like it before. Like there's a string attached to me pulling me toward some place.

I was supposed to stop at the station, report to Joanne, but when I get in the Jimmy, I turn the other way. That strange feelin's getting stronger. Pullin' at me. I can't resist it. I drive blindly till I'm parked in my own front yard.

I get out of the Jimmy and almost run across the porch. There's a spring winding tighter and tighter inside me. I feel like I'm gonna explode. My hands are shaking when I try to unlock the door. I finally get it open and step inside. First thing I notice is the flashing light on the answering machine.

I hit the play button before I even realize that it's the memo light not the message light that's blinking.

His voice comes out of the machine. "Hey, Cowboy. Do you know that that horse of yours likes yellow apples better than red ones? If you offer her---"

I cut the voice off shouting in frustration, "Where are you?"

"I'm right here, Cowboy."

The voice comes from behind me and I spin around so fast I almost fall. He's standing in the doorway, one shoulder propped against the door frame, those beautiful blue eyes shining at me, wearin' nothing but a smile. Make that a smirk.

If I weren't so glad he's alive, I'd kill him!

The End.