My thanks to Sylvain for the beta work

Meltdown

Part 1

Aaron yawned then rubbed his aching head. He and Jackson had been out on the lash the night before, and he was suffering for his sins now. He would have been alright if he'd had a few more hours kip, he'd have slept it off, but no, no lie in for him this morning. He had promised Cain he'd put a few hours in at the garage, catch up on the backlog of work they had there. He was sorry he'd said he'd do it now though, still he'd get double time for working a Saturday. The extra money would come in handy, it always did. Jackson had got up with him; he was, for some reason, minus a headache. The two of them had joined Paddy at the breakfast table; the older man was on call and was readying himself for what looked to be a busy day.

"I've already got five farm visits booked," Paddy said in between sipping on his tea, "one of them at Butler's. Adam's having problems with that bull they've just bought; apparently, he's not 'performing'."

"Performing?" a fuzzy headed Aaron queried, trying to stifle another yawn as he did so.

Jackson rolled his eyes then grinned wickedly at his boyfriend, "Yeah, you know, 'performing', something I couldn't do either, not if I had an audience."

"Oh!" The penny having finally dropped, Aaron shifted uncomfortably in his chair, a comment even remotely connected to his sex life, made in front of Paddy, left him squirming. He knew he could tell Paddy anything but for some reason he got a little embarrassed when it came to any mention of that side of things.

Paddy was too distracted with thoughts of his busy day to notice Aaron's discomfort, his mind now having moved on to something else, "What do you say to spag bol?"

Aaron shrugged, "Hello spag bol!"

Paddy chuckled at his friend's attempt at humour, it wasn't half-bad considering he had a hangover. "I meant for tea! I'll pick the stuff up on the way home..."

"I can do that," Jackson offered, "I've got nothing else to do today, I'll have it ready for whenever you get home."

"That'll be great, thanks." Paddy was more than pleased with that idea; it was one job he could cross off his list.

"My pleasure," Jackson insisted. He spent most of his free time at the Smithy these days, Paddy had made him very welcome, made him feel like a member of the family, but he rarely got chance to do anything to show his appreciation, this was one way of doing so.

"Right," Paddy said getting to his feet, "I'd best be off. You, behave!" Paddy had addressed that last comment to Aaron, patting his head affectionately as he did so. For some reason, he'd had the urge to ruffle his hair but there wasn't enough growth to do that.

"Don't I always!" Aaron stared after the older man, a little bemused by his words and gesture.

With Paddy having made a start on his working day, Jackson decided Aaron was in need of some encouragement to get on with his, "Right, you, upstairs."

"What? Now? I've got to get to work."

"I meant to get ready for work ... mind you… the house is empty and you always 'perform' better if you think no one can hear."

Aaron realised that this was one of Jackson's good-natured windups; and despite the thundering behind his temples, he took the teasing as it was intended and grinned back across the table at him. There was a time when he'd have taken it the wrong way, when he'd have been offended, when he just wouldn't have been able to see the funny side, but he was different now, so very different.

/

Jackson had pottered around the house, made himself useful. The place was clean and tidy but with both Aaron and Paddy working full time, there was a lot they didn't get around to doing. He didn't mind helping out, and it would help fill the hours while Aaron was at work. He was just waiting for the washing machine to finish, then he'd hang it out on the line. That done, he intended going into town, drop by at his flat, let his flat mate know he was still in the land of living. On the way back, he'd stop at one of the superstores that skirted Hotton, buy what he needed for their evening meal. David's shop was ok, he supposed, handy when you ran out of sugar or tea, but you couldn't do a sizable shop there, it lacked choice and could prove expensive. The trip into town would pass another hour or so and once back, he'd go call on Aaron, see how he was getting on and when he was likely to finish. He was missing him.

The washing machine was bleeping, alerting him to the end of its cycle. Setting down his mug of tea, he started to empty the machine, the first thing to hand a pair of Aaron's jeans, the ones he'd wore to go out the previous evening, the ones he'd helped him out of on getting home!

They'd had a good night and it had got even better once they'd closed their bedroom door. He sighed contentedly, acknowledging that as great as their sex life was, it wasn't that that made their relationship special, there was a connection, an emotional bond, and that bond was getting stronger and deeper every day. He wasn't one to bandy the L word about, it wasn't a word he used lightly, but he realised, where Aaron was concerned, that it really was love, that over the course of the last few months, he'd well and truly fallen in love.

With the contents of the washer now heaped in the wash basket, he made his way outside. Paddy was on yet another economy drive so the dryer was out of bounds on a fine day, and it just happened to be a warm spring day. Job done, his gaze was drawn to Aaron's jeans, and to what was hanging next to them… a pair of his own jeans. The sight of them side by side blowing in the breeze made him smile… he really was in love, wasn't he? It had turned him all soppy! There was nowt wrong with that though, was there? Truth was he'd never been so happy, so content with life. Yeah, life was good…

The house phone was ringing, breaking into his reverie. Thinking it was some client of Paddy's, he hurried back inside to take the call.

"Hi… no, it's Jackson, Aaron's at... what?"

Jackson was having trouble understanding what Moira was saying, she was distressed, her voice quivering with emotion. Her words left him shocked, stunned, momentarily speechless. He couldn't take her news in, he certainly didn't want to believe it. As he replaced the handset, he closed his eyes, trying to compose himself. He needed to be in control, he needed to be strong... Aaron was going to need him.

/

It was just after eleven, was that really all it was? He was clock-watching, checking his phone regularly to find out the time… and time was dragging by despite his workload. Knowing Jackson was at his made it hard to concentrate, he wanted to be with him, he wanted to see him, talk to him… touch him… kiss him… his head was full of him, it always was these days. He liked the way Jackson teased him, he liked the way he smiled at him, he liked watching him sleep, he liked waking up with him, he liked the way he made him feel inside… he liked everything about him. Liked? More than liked!

He had to stop this daydreaming, if Cain caught, him he'd dock his wages, even worse, tease him about it! And come to think of it, where was Cain? He'd been gone ages, how long did it take to buy a bacon butty?

Hearing footsteps, he turned around, was all ready to say 'about time' to his uncle when he realised he wasn't alone, that Jackson was with him.

He was pleased to see him but it wasn't knocking off time yet, and Cain was bound to remind him of that. He stood watching the two men approach, and began to feel uneasy. Something was wrong, their faces told him that much. They looked so serious, and Jackson, he was pale, ill-looking.

"What is it? What's happened?" Aaron knew something had.

"Aaron, let's go next door." Jackson didn't want to tell him here, he needed to get him someplace more suitable before breaking the terrible news to him.

"Why?"

"There's something I need to tell you and..."

"Tell me then."

"Not here, come on to Cain's..."

"No!" Aaron realised that whatever it was, he wasn't going to like it, and he'd rather know what it was now than prolong the agony.

Jackson glanced at Cain, the older man nodding his head slightly as if giving the go ahead for something.

"It's Paddy."

"What about him?"

"There's been an accident, up at Butler's."

"An accident! You're telling me he's hurt? Well how bad?"

"I'm sorry, Aaron, Paddy's dead!"

TBC