And we are back, once again.

I must say reading such bright, responsive reviews really helps by way of giving me ideas on how to improve upon this story, I'm always getting new and more intriguing ideas with each review I read.
Its so much more refreshing to see reviews that fully engage the story and everything it is about rather than just saying "can't want for the next chapter" and of course those are good too as I've said prior I thoroughly cherish each and every response my work gets, but there's something extra special when there's a little bit more heart put into it.

So I'd like to express my gratitude to the reviewers that have questioned and suggested ideas too, in response to the questions such as "where are the Vega's?" I had already thought about that and I have already planned to address their seeming absence, and any other questions that have been asked I hope I will be able to answer for you as the story progresses.

So without further ado, let's carry on.

"My son"

Two words.

That was all it took.

Two words that changed everything.

Two words that made this situation far more serious and far more severe, Cat sat in silence repeating those two words over and over and over in her head.
What would Cat have done had James not been able to stop in time? what if this scenario played out differently and the only way Cat would have learned of the child in Tori's arms was by looking down at the pair of them on the road, dead.
What then? what would have happened then? would James be arrested for murder? would Cat be convicted as an accomplice? one thing she knew for certain is she would never be looked at the same way again, from that night onward she would always be the girl who ran down an innocent mother and her child, and that terrified Cat to her very soul.

Cat felt a jolt pulling her from another almost trance like state within her mind, she looked down to see James' hand on her knee and she looked up to meet his eyes filled with sincerity and care, "just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it" he said quietly, never once letting his eyes stray away from hers, showing her she had his full undivided support whatever her decision may be.
"Let me drive"Cat said sternly as she seemed to come back to reality, opening the car door on her side she hopped out before James could even question her, and despite having his full support he definitely did question her, but Cat didn't bother to listen, walking around to his side she pulled the door open and stared at him, "James you can either slide over or get out and go around, one way or another I'm driving this car"
He could tell by the tone of her voice and the fire in her eyes that she knew what she was doing.

He got out of the car and looked her in the eyes as he stood, the rain was still falling and a few droplets ran down Cat's cheek looking like teardrops. The moon was high in the sky overhead and as bright as ever, twinkling in Cat's brown eyes, James was lost for a moment as he stared at the jaw dropping sight that Cat was to him, wanting nothing more than to kiss her right there and then in the pouring rain under the moonlight, but he knew serious matters had to be attended to first.
He headed around to the passenger seat and sat down, before he could even ask Cat where she was going she had already put her foot down as the car began to move, truth be told not even Cat knew where she was going or what she would do when she ended up there.

"Cat where are we going?" James asked with a genuine hint of fear in his voice, afraid on the state that seeing Tori had seemed to put Cat in, she had tunnel vision on the road in front of her and blocked out everything else around her, lost in the thoughts of her mind as she processed it all again and again. That night. Tori walking out. Not seeing her for all these years.
And then it was like a light bulb appeared over Cat's head as she snapped out of the trance like state once more, briefly looking up into the rear view mirror at Tori, "Tori, your dad, he's still a cop right?" Cat asked, hoping that Tori's response would put Cat's plan into action.
"I don't know" Tori responded with a sigh. "You don't know? what do you mean you don't know? how can you not know? he's your dad!" Cat yelled becoming more and more angry, gripping the steering wheel so tightly she could feel the nails she had freshly manicured this morning beginning to dig into the material.
"I haven't seen him since I moved out" Tori answered Cat with no change of emotion in her voice, Cat felt her blood boil at this point and ruthlessly slammed on the brakes, causing the car to come to a screeching halt.

The car was silent as it finally did come to a stop in the middle of the road, Cat still had her hands gripped tightly on the steering wheel and she was staring forward down the empty road, gritting her teeth tightly.
"Get out" Cat said looking back at Tori, "excuse me?" she questioned with disbelief in her voice, "you heard me" Cat said removing her seat belt and opening her own door, moving around to open the door for Tori, leaning in the car slightly to look her dead in the eyes.
"You and me need to have a little chat Tori" Cat said inviting Tori out of the car, she shuffled along slightly keeping the child held tightly to her chest, "no, leave him here, with James, please" Cat was scared to ask Tori something so personal because she had no idea what it could do, it could have triggered something much much worse. "Its okay, you can trust him, I do" Cat tried to assure Tori it was okay, Tori looked at James in the passenger seat and then back to Cat, who despite being angry had a genuine look of concern in her eyes, Tori nodded feeling as though she could still trust Cat and she leaned forward, tentatively handing the child to James, looking down his peaceful face as she had managed to get him back to sleep, "I'll be right outside, I promise" she said stroking his cheek as she handed him over, looking at James who just nodded at her, "he'll be okay I promise".

Tori finally stepped out of the car and Cat closed both the back door and her door, leading Tori off the street onto the sidewalk.

"Why did we have to be outside for this?" Tori complained as the rain was still heavily pouring down.

"Because it might get loud and I don't want to shout in front of... your son" Cat explained, a bit hesitant to say the words herself, it seemed to make it feel a little more real once she did.

"Well what did you want to say Cat?" Tori asked as she waited.

"This is him isn't it Tori!" Cat yelled stepping closer getting right in Tori's face, startling her.
"This is Max isn't it? he's the one that's made you like this, he turned you into this person, and he's the father of your child isn't he?" Cat was shouting loudly only a mere few inches from Tori's face.
"Yes..." Tori sighed looking down.

Cat stepped back needing a moment to think, wanting nothing more than to just slap Tori right across the face, not because she was mad or she hated Tori she just hated what Tori had become, this lifeless shell of a girl once so happy and cheerful her mere presence would brighten the day of just about anyone, it pained Cat to see her this way and she knew she couldn't let Tori walk out of her life again, she blamed herself enough for letting it happen once. was it a mistake? she didn't know but she always blamed herself like it was, she had hoped putting it all on the line would allow Tori to see sense and to finally walk away from it all but she didn't, and honestly that felt like a knife through Cat's heart, its selfish and she knew that, putting her friendship on the line like that but what other choice did she have?.

"Why did you let him do this to you Tori? why did you let him change you? you were the happiest girl I knew before you met him, now... now I don't even recognize you, you're not the girl that would come up with some incredible plan to get us out of a foreign prison or drive hundreds of miles with me in rain worse than thisto the house of some actress I thought was dead, you were my best friend and he ruined that, he took you away from me and it hurt me so much because I had to watch it happen, I had to watch you change. I saw that smile of yours disappear Tori. I saw the hope drain from your eyes. I saw you change. And no matter how hard I tried to get you back he just pulled you down deeper and you did nothing to fight it"

Tori was silent as Cat felt herself pouring her heart out to her once more the same way she had done all those years ago and once again Cat felt as though Tori was barely listening.
Cat couldn't take it anymore, the rage that had been building inside her was at a breaking point now and it had to be released.
She finally couldn't hold it in anymore and she slapped Tori harshly across the face shocking both of the girls, and James who was trying his best not to watch from within the car.
"Listen to me Tori! please! I know you're still in there!" Cat begged and pleaded in Tori's face as she stared into the cold, soulless eyes, "I made a mistake years ago, I never should have let you leave, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let it happen again, especially now that its not just your life at stake, its your sons too" Cat felt herself on the verge of tears but she wasn't going to let keep her thoughts in any longer.

"I'm not going to let this happen Tori, I can't sit idly by again and watch another life be ruined at the hands of a vicious sociopath, you know it isn't right Tori, no child should ever have to live like that. What will he think when he sees his own father shouting at his own mother? I've heard the things he calls you and I can't even begin to imagine how much worse those things have become. and if he sees his father hitting his mother? because I wouldn't put something so disgusting past him, you can't want your child to live like that Tori, you can't want your child to come from a broken home, you don't want your child to look at his mother and wonder why she's afraid of his father, because that's all you are Tori. You're scared of him! and that fear has broken you, and its alienated you from your friends and your family too. You say you haven't seen your dad since you moved out, that's because he made you move out isn't it? and you were too scared to see them because you knew he had threatened Trina before and you knew you couldn't say anything because he'd do exactly that again. You're the only person that can make this all go away Tori, you're the only person who's ever been able to make it go away, but if you can't stand up and speak then no one will listen, its domestic abuse, in those cases unless the victim is willing to admit what's going on nothing can be done, because if I go to them its just my word against his and you'd swear blind that he'd never hit you until you were blue in the face and the moment they left and you closed the door he'd hit you once again! Do you have any idea how much it hurts me? knowing as much as I want to help you I'm powerless to unless you help me right back? you can't live your life in fear Tori, you can't just keep yourself locked away in this prison like state because you're scared!"

SMACK

Just as Cat had finished her speech she was stunned into silence as she felt Tori slap her square across the face.
"I know!" she yelled at Cat with rage and anger in her voice, showing signs of emotion for the first time in years, "I know I'm scared Cat, do you think I don't fucking know that? Its the first thought I have when I wake up and the last thought I have when I go to bed at night!" she began to channel the burning rage inside her into her words.
"So why don't you do anything about it?" Cat tried to question but she was cut off by another slap. "You're going to shut up and let me finish" Tori commanded.

"I know I'm scared Cat, but what can I do? what can I possibly do? talk to someone about it? I haven't got any friends because he's either scared them away or I've just been so naive and scared I pushed them away!" Tori was breaking down in front of Cat, tears were streaming down her face as years and years of pent up frustration seemed to finally be finding its way to the surface.

"This life has broken me. He... has broken me" Tori said in a calmer tone stepping forward putting her hands on Cat's shoulders looking her in the eye, Cat knew she was on the verge of tears as she felt like she was speaking to Tori, the real Tori for the first time in years, sure it had been years since they had even seen each other but the lifeless, empty person Tori had been reduced to back then meant even if Cat tried to remember the happy memories the pair shared much like Tori herself they were becoming alienated and filled with a dark underlying tone as Cat always knew just what the person in her memories would eventually be turned into. Even now despite Cat feeling like she was seeing the Tori she remembered it still didn't feel like the same girl because of all the years of hurt one monster had brought.

"But... I am not about to let the same thing happen to my son, I'll go to the ends of the earth to protect him." Tori sighed as she finally broke down, feeling her voice break into a sob as she pulled Cat in close. Finally confessing to Cat exactly how she felt, by now she was used to living in this messed up so called life she had but it took her having a son that she may or may not have even wanted to begin with to let her see just how wrong it is and when she had two lives to worry about it made the situation a whole lot worse, but in a way it was the kick she needed to finally wake up and see just how wrong it all was, and to finally stand up for herself. Tori knew the moment she lay her eyes upon him in the delivery room that he was hers, he was actually her son and she would be willing to die before she'd let harm come to him. Tori wasn't telling Cat all of this to beg for forgiveness, she was telling her all of this because she was begging for help in protecting her son.

Cat immediately did the same hugging Tori as tightly as she possibly could, feeling some faint connection with the girl she once knew, it wasn't a rekindled friendship in fact it was still the farthest thing from, but Cat knew that there in front of her was a girl pleading for her help, she was just too scared to ever be able to say it.
"I'm not going to let that happen to your son either Tori" she whispered softly, never wanting the hug to end.

As James watched on from the car, cradling the sleeping child in his arms, he smiled to himself as he saw the two girls embrace.
He was distracted from this moment of peace however by the sound of a ringing phone from behind him in the backseat, using one arm to hold Tori's son he reached back with the other to retrieve the ringing phone and looked at the name on the screen.

"Max"

Well that will be all for that chapter I hope you enjoyed, man it was a tricky one to write that's for sure I kept getting frustrated in places and going back to change things.
Still nonetheless I do hope you enjoyed it as I am very much enjoying this story at the moment and I would love to continue it for you