Well here it is, the finale of Grounded by Fear. Have fun reading guys! I loved writing this thing, I'm glad I got to come back to it!

"Here, drink this. You'll feel better." Gage slid a warm cup of milk along the table. The glass slid across the wood and Butters grasped it, bringing it with a shaking hand to his lips. He looked sullen, his eyes open wide and staring at his lover. Gage put his hand on Butter's arm.

"I killed them. I killed them…I killedthemIkilledthemIkill-" Gage put his hand over Butter's mouth.

"Shh." He said softly. "You did what you had to." Gage lifted his hand to stroke his lover's cheek, smiling gently at him. "You're free. That tyrant will never ever hurt you again. Look at you. The bruises are gone. You've healed down there…you're beautiful. You're even gaining weight. I can't see your hip bones again at any case." he stood and patted Butter's shoulder. "I love you. Just drink the milk. I'm going to make you a…CARTMAN!"

The pudgy boy turned around, settling his back to the counter. He chewed the bit of sandwhich in his mouth, shrugging. "Hey, last pieces of bread and no one calls em." He mumbled around the mouthful of food. Gage snatched the sandwhich.

"This is my house, Cartman. I let you sleep over because you said you had news about the Stotches. Kyle's back at the house, go have him make you breakfast." Gage snarled. Cartman frowned at the man and opened the fridge, pawing about in it. Gage sighed and went to the counter, cutting off the bitten part of the sandwhich and putting it on a plate. "Butters, cut the crap. You're a man now dammit. You killed someone. Two people." Cartman said from deep inside the fridge.

"Cartman!" Gage snapped, setting down the sandwhich and kissing the top of Butters' head. He straightened and lit a cigarette. "Leave him alone! He just needs to forget about what happened." He said sharply, watching Butters eat shakily. He sat down in his chair, taking a deep drag of his cigarette. Butters was eating slowly, but his eyes still seemed distant. "It's been four weeks! Kid's gotta buck up a bit!" Cartman protested. The chubby man took out a tin and sniffed it, smiling at his find. "Mmm…lasagna." He said, taking off the tinfoil protecting his prize. He shuffled around the kitchen in search of a fork, kicking the fridge door shut.

Gage smoked silently, watching Butters finish the sandwich and milk like he was on autopilot. Maybe their plan had proved too psychologically damaging for the kid. He chewed on the end of the cigarette, frowning at him. "Baby?" he asked softly, his brows furrowed in concern.

"Can I be excused?" Butters asked in a voice so small Gage could barely hear him. Gage was surprised at the request. "Yeah…sure babe." He said, watching Butters push back from the table and wander up the stairs to their room.

"Hey, he ain't got that post…mmmf….traumathic streth thing?" Cartman said around a wad of masticated pasta and cheese. He swallowed audibly. "I thought he'd be made of stronger stuff." He stabbed his fork back into the leftovers with glee.

"Listen just tell me what you came here to tell me." Gage said, sighing and looking at the staircase. "My dad's going to wake up soon, and he's just on the couch. He could hear something."

"Oh, right." Cartman swallowed. "Yeah, you should be in the clear on the whole murder thing. No one saw anyone enter or leave, and Butters wore the mask and gloves like I asked. You're lucky I fished that mask out of the trash or you would have had the FBI on your asses. They can detect shit like that." He gestured at Gage with the fork. "So yeah, you're clear. Butters can live with you, he's currently labeled as a missing person, possibly dead. It would be better if he were dead you know, just to avoid having to be questioned and all that nonsense." He ploughed back into the lasagna with gusto.

Gage nodded and stubbed out the cigarette on Butter's plate. "Good. I was worried about that when I saw all those police at the house…especially that forensics team. The funeral was just…rocky." He muttered, glancing at the stairs again.

"Meh, they're dead. Bastards. Oh, I took the liberty of taking something from their house. Seems Mr. Stotch was hiding some shit in his basement. The Jew wasn't with me so I had to sniff out the cash the hard way." Cartman set the lasagna on the counter and picked up a bag from under the table, unzipping it. He dumped several stacks of cash on the table. "Our boy was fond of fifties. They're all neat, stacked in there. Looks like he only chose fresh bills, the stingy bastard."

Gage stared.

"I took my cut for the poisons, the cover up….but there's a good seventy thousand here. This is only a bit of it. I got bags back at the house when you're ready for em. I couldn't get the Jew to part from his Jew pile. He's protecting it like a dragon." Cartman chuckled. "What, wipe the look off your damn face. This is your reward, the both of you. Who says murder doesn't pay." He picked up a stack of fifties and waggled them in front of Gage's face. Gage snatched the money.

"What the hell are you thinking waving this around in our house?" Gage demanded, stuffing the money back into the bag. "Look, thanks for bringing this over…I had no idea, and I'm sure Butters will be happy WHEN he recovers." He said, sighing and plunking the bag on the chair next to him. "Thanks Cartman. This is enough to give him a good life. Get us started on our lives together. But he's too shaken up right now. Later on I'll show him."

Cartman nodded and shrugged, going back to the lasagna and finishing it up in a few giant gulps. He tossed the tin in the trash and the fork in the sink. "I'll catch you later. I have a Jew to wake up. " he said, heading for the front door.

Gage looked down at the bag next to him and rose, slinging the backpack over his shoulder. He sighed and trudged upstairs, dropping the bag inside the door to his room. He looked at his lover crumpled up on the bed. "Butters?" he asked quietly, approaching the bed. He leaned over him and kissed his cheek, sitting on the bedside. "Look, I know it was hard on you. But you're free now. Everything's fine. Cartman says the police don't know who it was. They're giving up soon." He kissed Butters' shoulder. Butters looked back at Gage, swallowing.

"…You're sure it was the right thing? That they won't hurt me anymore?" Butters asked, turning on his side to face Gage. Gage nodded, smiling.

"Never again." He said, kissing Butters' soft lips. "And look. Look what Cartman brought us." He got up and grabbed the bag, dropping it on the bed. "Open it. There's your college money right there. We could get an apartment together, live together. Find jobs. It's all there." Gage said as Butters opened the bag.

"Gage…how many bags of this are there?" he asked, looking up.

"Cartman said too many to bring here. Your dad was hiding money from you and your mom this whole time." Gage said, seeing his lover smile for the first time in weeks. "We can escape this. All of it. This miserable town. Maybe go to Denver and find some good jobs, go to the University of Colorado together." He clasped Butters' hands. "Would you come with me? Run away with me?"

Butters smiled and threw his arms around Gage's neck, kissing him deeply. "I'll go anywhere with you." He said, tucking his head against Gage's chest. Guilt was melting away from him. He didn't have to live off the fortunes of others now. Gage and he could find their own way, their own destinies. Like Cartman and Kyle. They could live out their lives together. "So this is what love is like." Butters whispered after a long, silent embrace.

"Get used to it, you've got to make up for lost time." Gage said, kissing the top of Butters' head. He lifted his chin when he heard something hit the window. He would have ignored it, but the tapping came again. He frowned and kissed Butters. "Hold on baby." He rose and opened the window, nearly catching a small stone in the face.

"Get your asses down here! I'm not going to haul a fucking fortune out of my house without a few grunts! You think it's safe leaving this amount of cash with a Jew?" Cartman shouted at them from the street. Gage smirked and looked back at Butters.

"You ready to move your inheritance?" he asked.

Butters smiled. "If you're ready." He said.