Destiny - Chapter 1

-O-

DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Emmerdale and its characters, which belong to ITV

-O-

Aaron was in a foul mood. His boyfriend had been out all night with no explanation and no contact. He could not believe that Robert could treat him this way. He paced the floor of the room that they shared at the Woolpack. He knew that there was no point in ringing his lover's mobile as it always went to voicemail and Robert had not returned his calls...or even texted. He was certainly going to give Robert a piece of his mind when he next made an appearance.

Aaron sat on the bed so that he could pull his shoes on when his phone rang. He looked at the screen and could see that Adam was calling him. He pressed the button to answer the call, "If you're chasing me up, I'm just getting ready to go down to the scrap yard now."

"It was your boyfriend I was after," Adam replied.

"He does have a phone of his own, you know!"

"Of course I do," Adam was used to Aaron's sarcastic barbs, "but he's not answering, so I thought I'd try you."

"Well, I don't know where he is," Aaron injected so much bile into his statement that Adam was left in no doubt that his best friend was angry.

"If you wanted a little stay-at-home, obedient boyfriend, you picked the wrong guy to shack up with," Adam also tried his hand at sarcasm.

"Listen Barton, you're not helping! Why do you want to speak to Robert, anyway?"

"He was supposed to come round and see us last night. He promised Vic that he was going to show her an example of the flyers that she wants printed for her snack bar. He arranged a deal with a printing firm that he knows. But, he never showed up and now we can't get hold of him."

A little nagging doubt began to creep into Aaron's mind: it was not like Robert to let down his little sister: they were very close and Robert would need a very good excuse for not turning up, "Well, I've tried ringing him too, but all I get is voicemail. He didn't come home last night."

"Oh!" Adam did not know how else to respond.

"I was warned, wasn't I?" Aaron shrugged his shoulders, although Adam could not see his physical gesture.

"Warned about what?"

"Robert!" Aaron replied, "So many people told me that he was untrustworthy, that he'd never change, that he'd get bored. I just didn't think he'd go looking for one-night-stands so quickly."

"You don't know that, mate," Adam tried to soothe his best friend's nerves, "for what it's worth, Vic reckons he loves you and she's never seen him so besotted before. Even I can see that he's all loved up: I don't think he'd cheat on you."

"I wish I had your faith," Aaron was like a dog with a bone, as always, "although the last time he stayed out all night and I thought he'd met another bloke, it turned out instead that he'd kidnapped that Ryan character."

"There you go then," Adam replied, "he's probably got someone else tied up in the boot of his car right now."

"That really doesn't help, mate," Aaron was always difficult to placate, "we're supposed to be trusting each other and telling each other everything. No more secrets, we said."

"Well, when he does reappear, he'll have both you and my wife to answer to!"

Aaron had to smile at Adam's statement, he knew how fierce Victoria could be if someone displeased her.

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When he arrived downstairs, Aaron was greeted by the sight of Liv and Chas in the back room. Liv was sitting on the sofa with a packed holdall next to her. Aaron looked at her and spoke, "You all ready for your trip?"

"Yeah," Liv answered, "Mum's going to meet me at the ferry terminal when I get to Ireland."

"You make sure you text us as soon as you arrive," Chas butted in.

"Anyway, where's Robert?" Liv asked, "I thought my new best buddy would want to see me off safely."

"He didn't come home last night," Aaron looked crestfallen.

Liv could see by the look on her big brother's face that he was annoyed, "Don't tell me that you two have had yet another row!"

"We haven't had another anything," Aaron replied, "he's just disappeared."

"Not unusual for Robert, is it?" Chas could not resist the tiniest dig at Aaron's boyfriend.

Aaron ignored his mother's remark and drew Liv into a hug as they heard the taxi horn outside, "Look after yourself, Sis."

"You too," Liv hugged him back, "I hope you get sorted with lover-boy by the time I get back."

Aaron was touched that, after all the wrangling between Liv and Robert in the past, his little sister had accepted his boyfriend at last.

After waving Liv off, Aaron made his way to the scrap yard, just stopping to buy a breakfast roll at David's shop on the way. Adam was already in the portacabin when he arrived.

"Any news?" Adam asked, not needing to embroider his question any further.

"No!" Aaron sat at his desk and took the wrapping off his roll, "I must be the biggest idiot in creation. Why do I let Robert do this to me?"

"I'll make us a brew," Adam walked across to the kettle, not even trying to respond to Aaron's question, which he took to be rhetorical.

Adam went out on a scrap collection run, while Aaron held the fort back at base. He was still in a bad mood, but he shrugged off his annoyance with Robert as there was work to be done and he decided to bury himself in it. A couple of hours after Adam had left, he was just filing an invoice when his mobile phone rang and he answered.

"Aaron, I've got some bad news for you, mate," Adam sounded upset.

"It's not very often I get good news is it...I'm used to it."

"No, listen Aaron: it's Robert, he's hurt!"

"What?"

"Someone's attacked him," Adam's voice was shaking with emotion, "he was covered in blood. I ran him to the hospital and I'm ringing from there."

"The hospital?" Aaron was struggling to digest the information, "How did you end up there? And how come you're with Robert?"

"It's a long story. Can you get here? I've phoned Vic and she's coming round to the yard to cadge a lift."

Just then, the door of the portacabin swung open and Vic entered. She was beside herself with worry, "Is that Adam?" she nodded towards the phone that Aaron was holding to his ear.

Aaron nodded and spoke to Adam again, "She's just arrived. I'll lock up and we'll be there as soon as we can."

Aaron had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He suddenly realised that his boyfriend had been in some sort of danger, but he had doubted him again. He could kick himself sometimes. He was subdued as he drove to the hospital with Vic in the passenger seat and she picked up on his pensive mood.

"He'll be okay, you know," Vic turned her head to look at Aaron and tried to reassure him.

"I wish I'd known that he was in trouble," Aaron replied.

"You couldn't have known any more than I could," Vic answered, "he didn't show up last night when he said he would, but I never could have guessed that he had got into some sort of scrape. Maybe we'll find out what's happened when we get there."

Aaron managed a weak smile back at Vic, but he was worried about his one and only love.

When they arrived, Aaron and Vic were directed to Robert's ward, where they found Adam in the waiting room. Adam drew his wife into a hug and patted Aaron on the back.

"How is he?" Vic was in tears.

"They said he's badly bruised but they're waiting for the x-rays," Adam's tone was reassuring, "they reckon he's been lucky. He was in a right state when I brought him in."

"How come you ended up ferrying Robert to hospital?" Aaron asked with a quizzical expression, "I thought you were on a scrap run."

"I was," Adam replied, "I was coming back from Robblesfield, just passing the woods on the way back and Robert stumbled out of the trees in front of me: I nearly knocked him over!"

"How did he get there?" Vic asked as she dried her tears on her handkerchief.

"Search me," Adam answered, "like I said to Aaron on the phone, he was covered in blood. I bundled him into the cab of the lorry and he passed out. So, I'm as much in the dark as you are."

After a rather anxious wait, Aaron, Adam and Vic were allowed in to see Robert. He was sitting up in bed and his face was covered in scratches and his torso was beginning to show the signs of bruising, but he seemed in remarkably good spirits. He smiled when he saw his nearest and dearest.

Aaron gently took Robert's right hand in his own and the tears welled up in his eyes, "What happened to you? Who did this?"

Robert attempted a smile. At times like this, he worried about Aaron and knew that his boyfriend had a penchant for blaming himself for everything, so he tried to reassure him, "I don't know who they were. There were two of them...a couple of henchmen I guess."

"But who would do this to you?" Victoria had made her way to the other side of the bed and had taken Robert's left hand in hers.

"I dunno, Sis," Robert gave her a weak smile, "I've made lots of enemies over the years, maybe my past is catching up with me."

"Scumbags!" Adam was never very diplomatic at times like these, "Didn't they say anything? Give you a clue who had sent them?"

"No," Robert replied, "they just said it was payback time and then waded in with baseball bats."

"Oh my God!" Victoria had visions of her brother being tortured in such a way and her tears flowed uncontrollably.

"Anyway," Aaron tried to lighten the mood, "you're safe now. I'm never gonna let you out of my sight from now on!"

Robert looked at Aaron affectionately: he could see the love and concern in his boyfriend's eyes and it touched him deeply. He never thought that anyone would ever love him the way that Aaron did. He squeezed Aaron's hand tightly, signifying his gratitude, "You've got my back, babe, I know that."

"I didn't have your back yesterday though, did I?" Aaron turned serious, "If I ever catch the low-life that did this..."

"Aaron!" Robert cut him short, "Promise me you won't do anything stupid. These are real hard men we're dealing with...I couldn't stand it if you got hurt...or worse."

"You'd have to catch them first anyway," Adam chipped in, "I don't suppose you'd ever be able to track them down. I'd like to give them a good pasting myself. We could get Cain to join us too: they wouldn't stand a chance against the combined forces of the Bartons, Sugdens and Dingles!"

Robert smiled: he knew he had the unconditional support of his family. He had never felt so loved before.

The hospital discharged Robert into his family's care and they went home. Aaron settled Robert into their bed in the Woolpack and, that night, he lay with an arm around Robert. He wanted to spoon against him, but Robert was so bruised and battered that he did not want to hurt him.

"Aaron?" Robert said, quietly.

"What, babe?" Aaron cooed.

"I'm sorry if you were worried last night. Those thugs took my phone off me and smashed it, there was no way I could get in touch. I thought I was going to die out in those woods they took me to. I might have done if I hadn't been able to struggle to the road. It was a stroke of luck that Adam was just driving past."

Aaron began to weep.

"Oh babe," Robert sighed, "I didn't mean to upset you. I won't mention the beating again."

"It's not that, well, not just that!" Aaron raised himself up on one elbow to look down at his soulmate, "I'm upset because I doubted you! When you stayed out all night, I thought you'd gone out on the pull! I'm so sorry!"

Robert raised his hands to Aaron's face and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears from his cheeks, "Don't be daft! I can understand you doubting me after all the things we've been through together. Thanks for being honest...and please know that I'm always going to be honest with you from now on. You deserve nothing less and you mean so much to me. I never want to risk losing you...I'd never cheat on you, I love you so much, Aaron."

Aaron bent his head to kiss Robert on the lips, a gentle peck so as not to hurt him, "I love you to, Robert Sugden: my life is worthless without you. It was in my destiny to fall for you and you are all I could ever want or need."

"Aaron, it was my destiny to fall in love with you too: you know when you said about finding a place of our own?"

Aaron snuggled into his pillow, next to Robert, "Uh-huh."

"Well, shall we do it?"

Aaron gently put his arm back around Robert's torso, "Yeah, I'd love that."

"I think I know just the place..." Robert replied with an enigmatic smile.