AUTHORS NOTE: So here we go with the next section of the story. Krystal's career is broadcasted in this but I made it light so I'm just warning you so you can't lynch me :)

DISCLAIMER: I only own the OC's that I created in my mind, obviously

***

He looked down at his watch and saw it was ten to one and they were still knee deep in old paperwork on the old drug cases of the year that Ronan overdosed. They had managed to isolate several killings that had happened around the same time and had told their family that they were going cold turkey because they knew that drugs were wrong. That sure gave the ganglords MO for their deaths but they still needed concrete evidence. He looked over at his two friends,

"I promised Ewan and Ronan that I would take them out for lunch." He said in a apologetic tone but he just smiled when Robbie pushed himself away from the floor.

"Don't apologise, Stuart. I was just starting to lose the will to live anyway." He said helping Jackie up to her feet and smiling over at him. "Are you happy with what we found so far?"

"I couldn't be more grateful to you two. Could you imagine me rifling through this lot on my own?"

"You'd have never made your lunch date that would be for sure." Jackie teased squeezing his arm lightly before looking at the papers that they had scattered everywhere. "How about we come back in tomorrow afternoon and work on the rest of this then?"

"Oh that's a wonderful idea. Why don't you surrender my next weekend away as well?" Robbie commented sarcastically and Jackie just swatted his shoulder, her glare telling him to shut up because she had since sensed the importance to Stuart. He understood her luck and nodded. "Yeah, Stuart, you should go home and have some time with your family and we'll continue this tomorrow afternoon at a more reasonable hour." His last words were said with some punch so Stuart knew not to ring him until after midday.

"Okay." He said laughing as he gathered his belongings and looked over at them. "Are you coming outside to say hello?" He asked grabbing his jacket and helping Jackie up off the floor.

"Oh that would be lovely." She supplied leaning against Robbie as he had wrapped his arms around her shoulder in a friendly move like he did at random moments when he was going to do something she'd probably hit him for.

"How about we tag for dinner and talk about the case with Ewan?" Stuart froze and turned back to look at them, a warm blush dancing over his cheeks as he concentrated on them both before rubbing his neck. His two partners rolled their eyes as they immediately worked out Stuart's issue. "Ewan doesn't know you're doing this, does he?" Robbie ground out and moved towards him, his hand clenching into a fist.

"He wants to believe that Ronan is a junkie and I know that eats at him every day. When Krystal said that he had a glimmer of hope that was quickly replaced with anger again as he allowed the hatred to take control. I just don't want to say anything in case we find out that it actually was a deliberate overdose. I just don't want to get his hopes up..." He tried to explain but in the end he just ended up flustered and Jackie moved over to hug him.

"That's fine, Stuart. I understand why you are doing this and think it's sweet that you're going to all this effort." Jackie promised before pushing them towards the exit.

"Why would you want to find out your brother-in-law was murdered by those kind of people and then it was covered by your own?" Robbie eventually asked as they reached the front hall. They could see young Ronan's face squashed up against the glass of the front door and they saw the affection that darted across Stuart's face as he looked over at her.

"I have a little faith in our people but if we did do it, then we did do it. I doubt Ewan is going to hate me over it, Robbie." He teased softly before squeezing his friend's shoulder. "You going to have dinner with us?"

"No." Robbie said before Jackie had chance to answer, "I'm going to take Jackie out for dinner. You go have family time."

"Okay." He said giving Jackie a kiss on the cheek. "I'll ring you both tomorrow after midday?"

Robbie went to say something sarcastic but Jackie covered his hand with her mouth, "we'll be there." She promised lightly before taking hold of Robbie's arm and pulling him out of the building. They both smiled at Ewan as they passed and carried on their way.

Stuart walked out of the building and pressed a loving kiss to Ewan before smiling down at Ronan, "Are you okay, princess?" She shook her head in response and Stuart knelt down in front of her, his jaw dropping. "What's wrong?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment before throwing her arms around his neck, "I'm hungry!" She cried wrapping her arms around him and he smiled at her before lifting her up.

"Well daddy and I will need to fix that then!" He teased pressing a small kiss to her nose.

"Well if a certain daddy wasn't working today..." Ewan teased taking hold of Stuart's hand and walking towards a small cafe with them. Stuart just smiled knowing that he had all he wanted right here even if he couldn't absolve Ronan for Ewan.

***

Krystal sat on the back step of the nightclub, her hands running through her greasy hair as she trembled against the aftermath of her latest hit. She'd found herself, once again, back at a strangers flat with no clothes on and her body was bruised. She knew that people paid her to be rough against her but sometimes she wished they weren't as rough.

She had fingerprint marks around her neck and she was struggling to breathe hinting that her latest customer had a fetish with strangulation. She had never really been shocked with the fetishes that her customers had had. It was a well known sociological fact that men used prostitutes to take out their frustration because it was wrong to do it to their wives that waited patiently for them to get home. Krystal didn't care what they did as long as she got the money at the end.

She tore off her boot and looked at the paper bills, her hands trembling as she realised that this wouldn't even be enough for a decent fix. She coughed into her hand and wrapped her light jacket around her against the cold. She'd get another hour or so sleep and then she'd go out again and find another client before getting another hit. It really was that simple.

***

Ewan had left for work and Ronan had long since been in bed. Stuart pulled out the documents that he had signed out and read through them. According to the autopsy notes, Ronan's arm had been completely punctured by a needle being ruled as a drunk guy trying to find a vein and failing. Stuart knew that Ronan was a professional that could find a vein in any state. He knew that this was probably the first piece of evidence in the case.

He flicked through the notes and fell across the autopsy photos. His hands trembled as he lifted the picture. Ewan didn't have a photo of his brother anywhere and Stuart could see the family resemblance. Ewan had always insisted that Ronan was the beautiful one but Stuart didn't agree. He thought they looked highly similar. Their bone structure was both as strong and their hairs were both the same shade of fiery red that caught your attention when walking through a crowd.

He put the photo away because he felt a lump forming in his throat as he thought of what Ewan must have gone through. His brother had been his life and then he had suddenly turned into this monster that lived off substances that were both illegal and lethal. His own wife was corrupting his brother's unstable mind and Stuart couldn't even begin to imagine the kind of trouble that Ewan had gone to so that he could save his brother.

The door to the bedroom opened and he saw Ronan stood there with her thumb in her mouth, tears glistened down her face. The guys had since learnt that mummy and Ronan had always shared a bed so the little girl was now afraid to sleep alone. They were determined to work on that but Stuart didn't have the heart to throw her out this morning so he closed the file and tucked it away into his top drawer before patting the bed, "come on, princess." He said so that she knew it was okay to come over. She smiled through her tears and ran over to jump on the bed. Climbing under the covers, she snuggled against Stuart and was asleep before he could even say anything to her. He just smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek before attempting to sleep too.

***

Krystal was pressed against the bed, her hands imprisoned above her body as the man attacked her neck with his teeth and lips. There was never any kissing on the lips because that suggested intimacy and intimacy was only shared in stupid films like Pretty Woman. There was no happy ever after when you worked the streets. You fought until the end and you went down fighting, it was simple as.

She felt him force himself enter her and she winced in pain as his teeth sunk down hard into the flesh of her breast. She knew that she needed to get a better career.

She just closed her eyes and dreamt of a better life. There was a beautiful little house in Glasgow, her daughter in her arms as they walked to school and even more importantly, she'd have Ewan's respect. She knew that he would never love her again but she could see him and Stuart coming over for lunch, family activities and she'd meet someone new. It would be a beautiful new life for her and her daughter, who she no longer had control over thanks to her ex.

She heard him grunt indicating that he had came and his weight sagged against her, the sweat making her nose turn but she just continued thinking of happy thoughts.

***

Ewan walked through the front door and smiled at the new paintings that were painted to the wall. He had never really been into art but Stuart had since put artwork slowly onto his walls. However the cute finger paintings that were tacked to his wall made his heart skip a beat as he realised that it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He had seen the picture she had drawn Stuart – one he proudly placed on his corkboard at work – and knew that this was the most perfect unit.

Shrugging off his jacket, he threw it over the back of the couch before slipping off his shoes. He grabbed one of the cereal bars that Stuart had insisted on him buying so that he could have something light to nibble on when he came home from work. He quickly checked all the doors and windows even though he knew that Stuart would have already checked.

Moving up the stairs, he moved into his bedroom while taking his shirt off and stilled at the sweet sight that greeted him. Stuart was asleep with Ronan in his arms, her thumb in her mouth that was in a peaceful grin. He smiled knowing that she was happy now was making him beam. This was all his and he knew that he would never permit anyone to take that off him.

***

Tears fell down her cheeks as the man eventually slid off her, her stomach lurching as she felt his sweat against her skin. She would have curled up in a ball and wept but that sometimes angered clients and they could get physical. Not a single police officer listened to a prostitute when she said she had been abused, they just laughed and probably went out to congratulate the assailant. He threw the money at her before leaving.

She gathered it up greedily and smiled intently. She had the money for another fix. The world was right again.