"So, do you want spaghetti or lasagne?"

Ste was in his element: he was in the middle of cooking some beautiful Bolognese sauce, the smells filling the apartment, his father was looking out for him, but backing off and listening to him too, and Brendan was about to walk back in the door. Brendan who had spent the night in Ste's bedroom. Brendan who was back, with no Seamus to destroy them, who loved Ste and who Ste had dreamt about every night since they had met.

"Er, which is quicker?" asked Danny, "I'm starving."

"That'll be spaghetti," Ste replied with a smile, "get some out, will ya?"

Danny obeyed. He smiled at Ste kindly, but reservedly and Ste wondered if maybe he wasn't speaking too soon. Maybe Danny wasn't completely happy with the situation yet.

He got some water on the boil, ready for the pasta, stirred the pot of tomato and beef. His father stood next to him, putting the spaghetti on. Danny leant over the pot and took a sniff.

"Smells great!" he said, "My son, the chef."

"Hardly," Ste mumbled, even as his Dad patted him proudly on the back. He ducked his head, sure he'd be pink. He couldn't get used to someone being so consistently nice about him. Compliments all over the place. It was proper weird.

A cough behind him made him turn. Brendan stood in the doorway, the light behind him magnifying his power and his darkness.

Ste smiled. "Brendan," he sighed, and forgot the meal in favour of holding Brendan again. He threw his arms around his lover and kissed him deeply. Brendan put a hand on his waist and kissed back perfunctorily before pulling away and looking at Danny.

Ste thought he knew what that was about, "Don't worry. Danny got worried about something but we've talked it over and it's fine now."

Brendan looked back at him, but his expression was strangely unreadable. "Is that so?" he said.

Ste frowned, "What's the matter?"

"Why would something be the matter?" asked Brendan, "just you and your Daddy cooking some dinner."

"Well, it's like, one o'clock, innit?" Ste said with a smile, "You hungry?"

"Always," Brendan replied.

"Good," said Ste, kissing him on the lips once more. He went back to the dinner. He stirred the sauce, checked the pasta was boiling but not boiling over.

There was a silence between his father and boyfriend as he worked. Well, what would they say to each other? They had nothing in common besides Ste. Or did they? They'd both slept with John Paul, but then that wasn't something Ste wanted to think about. About either of them.

"So, do you have to go to work tomorrow?" Ste asked Danny.

"Er no, we're all finished for the holidays," said Danny.

"Great!" said Ste, "lucky for some, hey?"

"Yeah," said Danny, "unless you've got sixty reports to write before January!"

Ste made a face. That much writing did sound awful.

"Reports?" said Brendan.

"Yeah, Danny's a teacher," said Ste, with a smile, "can you believe my Dad is clever?"

"Is he?" said Brendan.

"I know, it's weird innit?" Ste replied with a smile at the pair of them. "My Dad, a teacher."

"Well, isn't that nice," said Brendan, "All that time with…. younger men."

Ste stopped stirring, "What, have you been talking to John Paul?" he gasped.

"Now, why would I do a thing like that?" said Brendan, coldly.

Ste's heart fluttered. Brendan wasn't about to tear the family apart, was he? Just over some weird jealousy or whatever over Danny? "Brendan! No one's supposed to know about them! You gotta keep it down, right? If Sam overhears…"

"Overhears what?" Brendan interrupted.

"You know what!" Ste hissed.

"No," said Brendan shaking his head, "what am I supposed to know that Mummy Sam shouldn't?"

"About Danny and John Paul, Brendan!" Steven snapped, "You keep your nose out! I've never had a family before and you're not gonna ruin it for me!"

Brendan looked at Ste rather than Danny for the first time in a while, "I didn't know anything about Danny and John Paul."

Ste glared at him, "Right, whatever, just keep your mouth shut!"

Brendan looked at Danny, "You hear that?" he said, "Steven wants me to keep quiet about you."

"He cares about this family," Danny said quietly.

"Is that so?" said Brendan. "Protecting his new… family."

"Yes," said Danny, quietly.

"Because it needs protecting from your little… secret, Danny?"

"Oh because you're so perfect!" Danny snapped, angrily.

"I never cheated on the love of my life," said Brendan, "never even looked at another person when we were together. He cheated a couple of times, but with me rather than on me, so they don't really count."

"Infidelity isn't the only way to hurt someone, Brendan!" said Danny, coldly,

"Enough!" shouted Steven, "No fighting! Honestly, you're like a pair of kids! You're worse than Leah and Lucas."

Danny stepped away from Brendan, "Sorry, Ste," he said.

"Yeah," said Brendan, stepping up to Ste, using a hand to push his chin towards him, "Sorry, Steven." He dipped his head to kiss Ste, then stayed close after he pulled away. "Well, I thought you were cooking us some lunch?" he said with a smirk. Probably because Ste's stupidly over-developed sense of arousal at Brendan's very existence was showing on his face. Ste assumed his face was bright red again, for a different reason this time, and turned back to the dinner.

Brendan stayed close, leaning in to smell the food, putting a hand on the small of Ste's back. Ste wondered if this was a display for Danny's sake. When he nearly burned himself by picking up the pasta at the wrong angle, he ordered Brendan away. Brendan raised an eyebrow, but obeyed after not so subtly squeezing Ste's arse. Ste glared, but with a smile that wouldn't quite go away. He was probably never going to be angry with Brendan again. Or at least not for a few days.

He dished up without further injury, and his father called the family around. Peri was out, Leela was at work, but Sam appeared bleary eyed from her night shift, and Tegan wondered in with a blinking baby Rose. Sam looked at Brendan with some suspicion, but Tegan smiled.

"You must be Brendan!" she said, "Leela was rabbiting on about you all last night."

"Really?" said Brendan, watching Ste placing a plate of pasta and sauce in front of him, "anything positive?"

"She said you were ready to end it all for our Ste," said Tegan with a smile, "made it sound dead romantic."

"Aw," said Brendan.

"I'm Tegan, by the way," Tegan told him with a smile.

"A pleasure," said Brendan with a smile, "and who's this lovely lady?"

"This is Rose, my daughter," Tegan replied, holding the baby's head up to look at Brendan, and cooed "Say hello Uncle Brendan, Rose."

The baby made a mewling noise. Tegan smiled and put her in her pram, and Ste couldn't help but grin. Uncle Brendan.

"Hey Rosy, darling," cooed Brendan with a grin. "She's gorgeous, isn't she?"

"Well, I think so," said Tegan with a smile.

"Takes after her Mum," said Danny proudly. "All my children are beautiful."

Brendan hummed quietly, looking at Danny steadily, as though he were reading him. He didn't comment.

They tucked into the food, Brendan didn't say much, but then it took a lot to come between Brendan and food. Tegan was complimentary, Sam was looking sleepy but seemed to enjoy it, and Danny was watching Brendan with suspicion. It wasn't comfortable.

"So, Sam's a police officer," said Danny, suddenly.

Brendan looked up, and said "Is that so?"

"Yeah, Detective Inspector," said Danny, "She's good at it too."

"Good," said Brendan.

Danny rolled some spaghetti round his fork, "She can recognise a criminal just by the way sit, sometimes."

"Er, I usually look at the evidence, actually," said Sam.

Brendan didn't seem to hear, he was too busy staring at Danny. "Good job we've got no criminals here, then."

"Really?" said Danny, "so you've never done anything against the law, Brendan? Never… hurt someone."

"Danny!" Ste snapped.

"What are you trying to say, Daniel?" Brendan growled, voice low and dangerous.

"I'm saying, Brendan, that I know what sort of man you are," said Danny, not backing down, "and Steven may have forgiven you, but I will be watching you. If you even think about hurting him again…"

"Danny!" Ste shouted, furious. It was one thing to ask Ste about this in private with worry, but quite another to confront Brendan in front of half the family.

"Because you're such a great person, are you?" growled Brendan, and Ste thought there was more anger in his voice than necessary. Why should he care about the affair so much that it made him radiate fury like this?

"Brendan!" Ste snapped.

"I've never beaten up someone I claimed to love!" hissed Danny.

Ste rolled his eyes. Why was he pushing Brendan to reveal the secret? Did he want to destroy his family? Was it only Ste that would be broken-hearted if he lost these wonderful people from his life? If Sam threw Danny out, none of them had reason to keep contact with Ste. Before Brendan could answer Ste shouted "Stop!"

Brendan looked at him with raised eyebrows, Danny looked annoyed.

"Danny, can I have a word?" Ste said, more calmly but in a voice he hoped would be heard as an order. He got up, and walked purposefully into the nearest room that he could close the door to. He turned on his father and snapped "What are you trying to do?!"

Danny looked at him darkly, "I'm letting him know he can't hurt you anymore!"

"He's not going to hurt me! He's the love of my life!" Ste hissed, "And even if he did, it's my business, not yours!"

"How can you say that?" Danny replied.

"It's my life!" Ste cried, "You need to back off! You have no idea what we've been through!"

Danny stepped forward, "I'm trying to protect you!" he said earnestly.

"That's not your job!" Ste argued, "You've got enough no your plate, Danny!"

Danny stepped back with surprise. "What does that mean?"

"John Paul!" Ste growled, feeling the fear that had been bubbling under the surface for months build up, "Brendan knows! How long do you think you're gonna keep it quiet?"

Danny's face quivered, "It won't come out!" he said, confidently.

"Well you can bet all the McQueens know!" said Ste, "so how many of your students do you think know now?"

"Ste!" said Danny, looking more hurt than upset, and Ste regretted everything he'd just said.

"Sorry!" he said, "I'm sorry, I'm just so scared."

Danny frowned with confusion, "Why scared?" he asked.

Ste wanted to hit him for missing the obvious, "Because when Sam throws you out, I lose everyone, don't I?"

Danny looked at him with wide eyes.

"You give me a home, and sisters and all these lovely people who love each other, and you're gonna throw it away!"

Tears were beginning to spring out of his eyes. He tried to push them back in by screwing his eyes closed.

"Steven," said Danny, urgently, "No one's throwing anything away."

Ste sobbed, "You are! You're going to destroy the family!"

"I'm not," Danny cried, "and even if they did find out, they wouldn't blame you!"

"They wouldn't want anything to do with me!" Ste cried. He hadn't realised how much the idea affected him until now. He'd got Brendan back, but he wanted this as well. He wanted this family, and he wanted Brendan to be a part of it. None of that could happen if Danny got caught out.

"They would, Ste," said Danny, "you're a part of this family! My daughters are your sisters and you are my son. Nothing's going to change that."

Ste didn't reply. He didn't know if he dared believe that. Nothing this good could ever happen to him. He wasn't going to be allowed to keep everyone. No way could he get to keep Brendan and the Lomaxs. He would blink and they'd all be gone again, and he'd be alone again.

Danny put a hand on his shoulder, "Steven, I promise you, we're not going anywhere!"

Ste nodded, desperate to believe.

"Come here," said Danny, pulling Ste into a hug. Ste hugged back. He had a father. His eight year old self would have given anything for this moment.

It was interrupted by Brendan, and not quietly. He dragged Danny off of Ste and threw him against a wall, hands on his neck. He looked ready to explode. "You keep your hands off him!" he shouted.

"Brendan!" Ste shouted. Why would Brendan have a problem with Ste hugging his own father?

Brendan didn't seem to hear. He shoved his hand further into Danny's neck. "I know all about people like you! Preying on people who look up to yas, using them for your perversions. Did Pauline know about that, eh? That why she kept you away?"

"What are you talking about?" Danny choked out in surprise.

Brendan's gripped seemed to tighten, "He's your son! What sort of disgusting, sick bastard …"

"Brendan!" Ste shouted. He threw himself between Brendan and his father, grabbed Brendan's face with his hands, "Brendan stop! What are you doing?!"

"He's not gonna hurt you, Steven! McQueen told me how you two met!" Brendan cried, his hands still clutching at Danny.

It clicked for Ste exactly what Brendan was saying, "God, he's not like that, Brendan! He's never touched me like that! He's not gonna either! He's my Dad, Brendan!"

"Like that means anything," growled Brendan, but his grip was loosening enough for Ste to push him away from his father.

"He's not a bad person, Brendan, I promise you. Brendan! The second he realised who I was, he left! He would never take advantage of me!"

Brendan was still staring at Danny, breath in gasps showing his distress. And Ste knew where it came from.

"He's not Seamus, Brendan."

His voice was quiet, almost too quiet to hear, but it had the effect he was after. Brendan's eyes flew to him, wide, terrified and childlike. He grasped Brendan's face, desperate to heal the open cracks of brokenness he could see there.

"It's ok, Brendan," Ste cooed, "It's OK, I'm here. I'm fine and I'm here. We've got each other back, Brendan."

Brendan still looked shocked and wide eyed. Ste pulled Brendan towards himself, wrapping his arms around Brendan's neck. He felt Brendan's arms grab at his waist, bury his head into his neck, and he whispered "I'm never going to give up on you, remember?"

"No!" shouted Danny, "No, he tried to strangle me, so you hug him? Can't you see how wrong this is Ste?"

Ste didn't listen. Brendan needed him; that was what mattered.

"Ste!" said Danny, "Ste? Can you see yourself?"

Ste kept hold of Brendan, and breathed deep, knowing what he had to do now, putting it off for a few more seconds. A few more. Pretending he could have both Brendan and the family he loved.

Danny wouldn't let him. "Ste, I want him out of my house!"

Ste closed his eyes. He nodded. "Fine," he said. "Give me ten minutes to pack a bag and we'll be gone."

He took Brendan's hand and led him to the bedroom. He grabbed a bag and shoved in clothes, ignoring his father's pleas, the questions from the women. This wasn't a choice. This was just the way it was.

Brendan ordered a taxi and they left. Ste couldn't look at anyone, not Brendan, not his family. He sat in the car, silent, then watched the rain fall hitting the window. He was right. He couldn't have it all. But at least he had Brendan.

AN: OK, one more part?