I DO NOT OWN EMMERDALE OR IT'S CHARACTERS. THEY ARE AND ALWAYS ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE DAFT ITV 1.

(Sometime in the later 19th Century, in a small North Yorkshire industrial town outside Leeds)

part4

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"God bless Shadders"

Zac Dingle held up the bottle of ale, and tipped it into Shadrach's grave. Everybody else followed suit and in turn after paying their respects to the drunken old sod, they moved away from the grave.

Aaron was last to go. He started down into the cold muddy grave, his grandad lying stiff in that coffin. He shuddered as the Ravens started to cry out on the nearby trees, that made his blood run even colder than grandad proberly was.

"Aaron, love...come on, we are heading back to Uncle Zac's place, Lisa's put on a spread" told his Mum. Chas stood there in black, her hand knitted shrawl pulled around her. Aaron looked up and nodded his head, " stop your mithering...I'll be there in a bit"

Chas sensed he wanted to be left alone, and headed off after the many other Dingle family members up the muddy track to the crumbling wreck that was Uncle Zac's pig farm.

"So where did you get it?"

Aaron nearly jumped out of his skin, he hadn't realised Uncle Cain was standing behind him, but in his trade as a thief, being light on his feet was a bonus.

"Get what?" asked Aaron, wondering what his uncle ment.

"The coffin, you idiot, where did you get it?"

Aaron cleared his throat, but didn't turn to face him, " it was like I said to Mum, I found it"

"Bollocks you did. You expect ME to believe that tall tale, do yah? I KNOW where you got that from, lad" he informed cryptically, coming to stand beside him at the rim of the grave.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Aaron swallowing down nervously.

Cain looked at him, " Those pair of twats in the pub the other night, the ones you got into that bother with, I've seen them loading up a hearse a few days before they came in...I know your game" he said with a big fat smile and a wink of the eye.

Aaron really didn't know what Cain knew. He looked up and around him, and set his focus to the fading light beyond the crumbling stone wall that bordered the cemetery.

"I said I FOUND it"

"You STOLE it"

Aaron was relieved inside. Stole it? Of course he did. He shook his head and smiled at him, "Just don't yah be telling Mum...you know what she's like about me and robbing stuff"

Cain sniffed the air back, " Who says about telling her...I'm not..." he turned his head to face him again, "...for a price"

Xxxx

It was pitch dark when Aaron and his Mum got back to the pub, which was closed due to the bereaved.

Chas decided she was going straight up to bed because it had been a long day, and she wanted to be fresh for tomorrow.

Aaron stoked up the fire and sat in front of it for a while, the reflection of the flames in his eyes. There was then a rap at the door. It was Cain.

Cain came in and sat next to Aaron infront of the fire, "...so soft lad, have you thought about what I said? Coming out with me on the take..."

Aaron swallowed down and shook his head, "Just as long as no one gets hurt, I'm up for it..."

Cain cracked a grin, " Nice one, I knew you would see sense"

Cain left soon after. Aaron made sure the fire was safe, and blew out the candles, before heading up the creaky stairs to bed,

Xxxx

Aaron worked like a dog the next day. Down the dark filthy mine. The sun had barely come up when he and the lads entered the mine, and it was already going down when they come back up, caked in coal dust and finished for the day.

Today was different mind. Today they got paid, and he lined up with the rest of them, old and young at the office where the mine manager sat at a desk and dished out the wages.

Adam and Alex were ahead of him in the line and collected their money. Aaron was next and the manager looked at him, looked at the ledger book through his half specs and looked back up to him, " You MISSED two days"

"I was bereaved sir"

"Oh yes...Barton said about your family's loss...So...it's good for ME because I only have to pay you 4 days pay in stead of 6...", Aaron could tell how pleased the manager was, due to the big fat smile on his sideburned face.

"Put your cross here, lad"

And where the manager placed his finger, Aaron picked up the pen and marked a cross where his name was.

No one ever signed their name...no one KNEW how because nobody could write.

Aaron held out his filthy hand, as the manager was in the battered cash box next to the register and the oil lamp, he then tipped a couple of coppers into Aaron's palm, "don't you go spending ALL OF THAT at once" the manager said slyly.

Aaron looked at the coins in his palm, then put them into his pocket and walked out.

A little while later, the cart came back to the town and the miners got off including Aaron, most of them headed to the pub and usually, Aaron would follow, but tonight he backed up and headed into the opposite direction.

As he walked up the cobbled street, he stopped at the undertakers and looked up to the house ajacate to it. There was the low glow of gas lamps lit beyond the thick velvet curtains. He bit his lip and approached the step, he was in direct eye line with the door knocker.

He bottled it. There was no way he could just knock on the door. So he backed away and hurried back up the street.

Xxxxx

As he approached the pub, he saw Jackson coming out of it, Aaron stood still in his tracks.

"What are YOU doing here?" he asked, a little fazed.

"Well, I wasn't looking for you, was I"

Aaron's eyes hit the floor, he said, 'see you around' the last time they met, did he not mean it?

Jackson smirked and laughed at him, " I'm MESSING with yah! COURSE I was looking for yah...I were working hard today and me mate came to see me, and he said he was seeing his lass tonight, so I thought to meself, who can I see instead, and THEN i thought about my lovely new mate, Aaron...so so you fancy it? Do you wanna come out with me?"

Aaron pulled aface, " What? Just you and me?"

Jackson pulled a face back at him, " Well, I was sorta thinking that we could ask your rowdy mates along and maybe I could ask me Mum and dad to join us as well-COURSE I just ment just us...are you always this tight?"

Aaron lightened up abit, " Alright, I'm up for that...where...not here"

"DEFINATELY NOT HERE!" Laughed Jackson, " I was thinking about maybe heading to the otherside of town, there's a couple of nice pubs I've got to know..."

Aaron shook his head, " Yeah sweet...when?"

"Tomorrow night? After work...what time do you clock off? For me it's about 6 oclock...what if we make it that we meet at the end of the street for say...8"

"8" Aaron breezed out unsurely.

"Yeah...is that okay? If it's not we could maker it nearer 9" Jackson suggested, raising his eyebrowes.

Aaron shook his head, " No...8's okay..."

"AARON! ARE YOU COMING IN, PAL?" it was Alex coming out to find him, Jackson stood back in a shop doorway, the last person he wanted to bump into was that thug.

Aaron turned and put on the meanest look he could muster up, " I'LL BE I THERE IN A MINUTE, PAL!"

Alex went back into the pub.

Jackson came forward and smiled at him, he even briefly touched Aaron's chin with his fingers, and then he was off up the road waving to him.

"HEY! AARON! ARE YOU COMING IN OR WHAT, LAD?", it was Adam who now stood on the open doorway.

Aaron nodded his head, and went into the pub.

His heart was pounding...when had it ever pounded like this before? He didn't know.

He was going to meet Jackson...and they were gonna go out and meet at 8, tomorrow.

JUST ONE PROBLEM...if only he had bothered to learn to tell the time...

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