Sophie stood outside Mick's cabin with him stood behind her supporting the rifle and making sure she held it properly as she fired at tin cans. She was smiling happily feeling the warmth of Mick's body pressed against her, she glanced to the side of her and saw Mick's tattooed tanned hairy arm underneath hers to support the barrel to control the kickback. She squeezes the trigger knocking one of the cans off its perch the kickback causes her to step back a bit closer into Mick; he puts his hands on her shoulders to steady her.
"Wow" she gasped "I've always wanted to fire a Lee Enfield" Sophie said with wonder and amazement, Mick chuckled he still couldn't believe he had got a girl that loved guns and rifles almost as much as he did and loved his guns as much as she loved him. He spun her round and she wrapped her arms around his stomach underneath his open tartan shirt and looked up at him, she loved it when he wore his white vest and an unbuttoned red tartan shirt on top.
"Thank you" She grinned tiptoeing and kissing his sideburn and bristle covered cheek.
"Get off I'm no fluffy lover girlie" He grinned laughing, he said that to keep his rough manly ego but she knew most of the time it wasn't true usually he was really sweet and kind with her. She loved days like this that she could have with him, Mick could be unpredictable sometimes he could be snappy and moody and someone that she should avoid, other times he was in a drinking mood which could turn him into a sex fiend or an irritable argumentative man and then it was all downhill from there and then the very rare times he could be sweet.

They did argue and bicker sometimes she had never expected Mick to change which was a good job because he never had, he was still as stubborn and argumentative as he always had been, he still loved his drink and he sometimes still liked to go out and hunt for play things but she knew that would never change he would forever seek justice for his sister on tourists there was no changing that, he would forever be punishing tourists for that evil man in the black car that killed his sister.

Sophie lay in bed at night trying to get to sleep but Mick wasn't lying there next to her so she was struggling, eventually in the early hours of the morning Mick returned she heard the shower switch on and listened to him showering before hearing him enter the bedroom and get into bed, she pretended to be asleep. He curled up to her and wrapped his arm round her waist, even though he had showered she could still smell the metallic smell of blood it made her gut churn she loved and cared for him but she hated the things that he did, despised the things he did. Sophie hadn't thought her staying with him would have stopped him killing but just a little part of her had foolishly hoped that it would.

During the early hours of the morning Mick woke with a start he sat bolt upright in bed waking up Sophie, she groaned and rubbed her eyes and looked up at Mick she could see him breathing heavily, his forehead and chest shiny with sweat.
"Mick you ok?" She asked concerned putting her hand on his shoulder; he shrugged her hand off and grunted getting up out of bed.
"Mick..." She called after him, he didn't look back as he walked into his living room, Sophie sighed she knew he still had nightmares about his childhood he very rarely told her about them or much information about his childhood he seemed to think he was manly enough to be able to deal with it on his own in silence, to him talking to someone would dent his ego, Sophie sighed she wished there was something she could do to help, she wished he would just let her into his mind and talk to her when he was struggling.

The next day was when Sophie's patients finally snapped, she was going to spend the afternoon relaxing but instead Mick had decided to drink all day she assumed something had happened either with a play thing or victim or his nightmares that was what usually caused Mick to drink. Sophie sighed with irritation all she had wanted to do was relax but instead she would be cleaning up after him and making sure he didn't hurt himself she couldn't be doing with him almost smashing his skull in like he did last time she wasn't there when he was drunk.
"Mick what's wrong, what happened?" She asked concerned she knew something was bothering him.
"Nothing girlie" He shrugged his shoulders taking a large swig from the rum bottle.
"Mick, don't bullshit me you always drink the whole of the next day when something bad happens"
"Can't a man have a fucking drink without being questioned or lectured!" He suddenly snapped standing up quickly out of his chair, Sophie took a step back she knew that he would never hurt her but it startled her and he could be unpredictable.
"I was just worried about you that's all, sometimes I wonder why I even bother"
"You moan girlie that's all you do is moan" Mick groaned his patients wearing thin.
"Just let me in Mick, just talk to me!" Sophie exclaimed "Tell me what's wrong"
"I don't do this talking shit you know that"
"Fuck Mick I never expected you to change but damn coming home smelling of blood all the time and me having to clean up after you when you drink is enough to make anyone crazy"
"You knew who I was girlie" Mick growled.
"Yeah well... sometimes I wish I didn't, sometimes I wish I had never met your sorry ass, sometimes I wish I could stop caring about you, I wish I could get away from all this shit" Sophie snapped she could see the hurt in his eyes even though she could tell he was trying hard not to show it, her heart broke just looking at him instantly regretting what she had said but she ignored it, instead she just turned her back on him and walked out.

She loved her Mick, she did but sometimes he got on her nerves, truth be told she was jealous of his playthings he didn't take as many as he used to but the thought of him having sex with them made her nauseous and it wasn't the drinking that irritated her it was how clumsy and messy he could be when he did, sometimes it felt like he just didn't appreciate her and took her for granted, sometimes she wondered whether he would be even bothered if she wasn't here anymore.

Sophie could tell he struggled to talk to her he liked to come across as this dangerous dominant masculine man with a big male ego but he struggled with his past and he very rarely was capable of talking to her about it, sometimes Sophie just wished he would let her in and confide in her with what was troubling him but Mick wasn't an emotions and discussion type of bloke but she loved him, she had grown to love and care for him over the months and despite how much they argued and how much he irritated her she did love him.

She sat outside the house on the dusty ground with her knees tucked up against her chest watching the distance thinking. She was thinking about everything her and Mick had been through how safe she had felt when Mick took her to wolf creek despite the situation she was in, Sophie was thinking about how lucky she had been to have had Mick save her at the beginning it may not have seemed it at the time but it had been a blessing in disguise God knows what those men would have done to her if Mick hadn't saved her and despite all his floors she was appreciative of everything he had done for her, she loved her Aussie pig shooter. Sophie laughed to herself, it seemed to long ago that she had been taken by Mick as one of his play things if someone had told her they would end up together she would have laughed in their face, it had seemed impossible then and it felt unbelievable now.

After a while she began to regret having an argument with him, Mick would always be Mick she should know that by know and she loved him for being himself but he just infuriated her sometimes. She was just about to go inside and apologise when suddenly a brown cloth bag was pulled over her head, she screamed with fear as everything suddenly went dark, she screamed for Mick to help her but he was probably drunk by now. Sophie felt people lift her off the ground and tie up her hands before forcing her into the back of a car.

Sophie was terrified she had no idea who had taken her, where she was going or what they were going to do to her all she knew was after that argument she doubted whether Mick would come and look for her, God she was desperate for him to show up she hoped he would come after her and saver her.

Eventually they got sick of hearing her scream she heard the sound of a tape roll and they lifted the hood just to secure the masking tape over her mouth before replacing the hood. Sophie tried not to cry she had survived worse than this, if she could survive Mick then she could survive this but she desperately hoped that Mick wouldn't give up on her and realise she was someone worth fighting for.