AN: So I know I'm super slow with this story but what can I say? The muse will do what the muse will do. That, and I had to go back and watch some old eps which I finally got around to doing. Thanks to TreasureHunterGirl for making that possible by faithfully recording H&A every night and archiving it onto DVD. Enjoy!

The last time Murphy had done a disappearing act he'd headed up the coast, it seemed logical that he might do the same thing again. So Heath jumped in his truck and drove the two hours to Palm Cove. He checked all the spots they'd been before, including the secret beach, and it wasn't until he got to the motel and saw that Murphy's bike wasn't in the parking lot that he realised how stupid he was being. There was no way Murphy had come back here. Why the hell would he want to be reminded of Heath? He'd want to escape him. Obviously the bloke hated him now because he wasn't answering any of his calls. God, how was he supposed to make anything right if Murphy wouldn't even talk to him? Heath didn't know what the fuck he was supposed to do next. Had he screwed this up beyond repair? Ruined the best thing he'd ever had going for him?

He was pulling his phone out to call Murphy for the hundredth time when it began to ring. It was Casey.

"Yep," he answered, maybe a little more abruptly than he should have.

"Heath. Where are you?"

"Up the coast."

"Come home now. We need you..."

xxx

The drive back seemed to take forever but then he was rushing into the hospital. He found Casey sitting alone in the corridor.

"Where's Brax?"

"In with Charlie." Heath scanned the surrounding area, wondering which room he needed to burst into.

"Is she ok?" He'd never been her biggest fan but that didn't mean he wanted her shot.

"Heath, sit down for a minute."

It was only then that he really looked at Casey and he knew this was bad. Really bad.

"What is it?"

"Sid says her brain was starved of oxygen for too long. There's nothing more he can do."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means a machine is breathing for her. She's never going to wake up."

"Never?"

Casey bit his lip and shook his head. He was just a kid, this was a huge thing for someone so young to deal with.

"You alright?"

"I have to be. For Ruby."

"I'm not Ruby. Come here." He pulled his little brother into a hug.

"I'm scared," Casey admitted, "about Brax. About what he'll do." Heath needed to see for himself.

"I'll go check on him."

Inside the room it was eerily silent except for the beep of the machines. Charlie lay deathly still, tubes hanging out of her everywhere and beside her sat Brax. Heath had never seen his brother look so... sad. Nothing ever seemed to touch him, he was always so strong and resilient. He must have really loved her.

"Mate," he ventured, "I'm so sorry I wasn't here."

Brax answered automatically, scarily detached and without moving his eyes from Charlie's face.

"Doesn't matter. He's locked up now."

Heath didn't know what to say, he was no good at this emotional stuff. With Casey it was easier because he was still a kid but with Brax it was different. With Casey being so much younger than them he'd always come to them when he needed anything but with Brax, who was so guarded with his emotions, it was hard. He didn't think it mattered now anyway, nothing anyone said was gonna help him, but Heath needed to do something.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Brax shook his head and squeezed Charlie's hand. He was fighting to hold back tears and Heath decided that giving his brother some privacy was the best thing he could do for him right now. He was going to need some time to get his head around this. Someone as headstrong as Brax needed to come to terms with this in his own way.

"Call me if you need anything."

After seeing the reality of Brax and Charlie's situation the only thing Heath could think of was making things right with Murphy. Which still meant he had to find him. He'd just been dealt a brutal reminder of how short life could be and he didn't want to leave anything unsaid between them.

"Pick-up, pick-up, pick-up..." Why couldn't Murphy just answer? Heath tried to think back to what had actually happened during that fight, if Murphy had said anything that would give him a clue but all he could remember was that he'd been angry and upset, so of course he'd gone to ground. But where?

"Heath?" Casey's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Of course. When times were tough you turned your family and the closest thing Murphy had to family here was Smith. They were like brothers. He'd be the one Murphy would tell if he was going somewhere. Heath didn't have his number, he and Smith had never really gotten along, but he lived with that weird Dexter kid Casey was mates with.

"Case, what's that Dexter kid's number?"

"What?"

"That weirdo you hang out with. I need to call him."

"Okay..." Casey said uncertainly, pulling out his phone. Heath punched the number into his own phone.

"Cool. Thanks," he told Casey before heading outside.

Heath hit call before he really thought about what he'd say. Getting to Murphy was all he could think about.

"Hello?"

"I need Romeo's phone number."

"Right, and you would be?"

"Heath Braxton, and I need it now."

"Oh Heath, Casey's brother, they one that has a boyfriend but isn't gay." He wasn't even gonna comment on that but seriously, what the hell kinda conversations had Casey been having with his friends?

"The number?"

"Yeah ok, but what do you need it for? This isn't about drugs, is it?" he asked conspiratorially.

"What? No." If this kid thought dealing was exciting he'd been watching way too much TV. "I just need it."

"Is it about Liam?" God this kid was frustrating, couldn't he just hand the damn number over? "He's been kind of mopey these last few days." Hang on...

"Wait, you've seen him? Where?"

"Mainly on outside on the veranda, sometimes in the kitchen making breakfast."

"He's staying there?"

"Yeah I just said-" Heath hung up, that was all he needed to know.

xxx

Seeing Charlie in the hospital had really made things hit home. Brax had shut down, and no amount of comfort from anyone was gonna help. It was too raw and too devastating, beyond Charlie herself waking and telling Brax it was ok, nothing could possibly help now. It frightened Heath, the way they'd been so happy one minute, planning a future together, and now Brax would never speak to her again. Anything he wanted her to know, things he'd meant to say but just hadn't got around to, answers to any questions he had, were gone now. And they'd been at odds when this had happened, Heath knew because he was partly to blame for that. He was so sorry now for the hassle he'd caused, but words weren't going to make Brax's final days with Charlie any better now. The situation with Murphy on the other hand was something he could still fix.

"Murphy!" Heath called urgently. The man appeared, safe and sound as the last time Heath had seen him. Thank God. Heath didn't know what he'd meant to say, the words just poured out. "I was stupid, so, so stupid. I shouldn't have said those things. I didn't mean them, any of 'em. You forgive me, don't you? And you know how much you mean to me right? Tell me you know that." Heath knew he was bordering on desperation now but he just need Murphy to acknowledge it. To let him know that the little things didn't matter.

He walked right into Murphy's personal space and pressed feverish kisses to the other man's face. His cheeks, his jaw, his lips. All the things he'd been denied access to.

Liam was shocked. Coming from Heath, it was an unusual display of affection and he wondered what had triggered it.

"What's happened? Something's happened."

"Tell me you know it first. That you know how much you mean to me. I don't want to live without you. Please..."

"Alright, it's alright," Liam assured him, "I know it's just how we are. I'm sorry too, I was way out of line when I said those things. I don't want to lose you either."

"Good, good, I promise you won't. I'll never leave you. If we can just remember this, how we feel here and now, we'll be ok. This is what matters..." Heath kissed Liam on the mouth then, as fiercely as he ever had.

"You feel that?" Heath breathed, eyes shining. Liam nodded, it was all he could manage. "It's how much I love you."

Liam was rendered speechless. Heath had never said that out loud before.

"Say something," Heath insisted.

"I... You do?"

"You didn't know that?"

"You've never said it before."

"I should have. I'm sorry, I'll never forget to say it again. I love you... I love you... I love you." Heath punctuated the statements with kisses. Liam had never felt so desperately needed. Heath was so determined to show him how he felt. He wondered how he could ever have doubted their connection.

Liam finally returned the kisses, he'd been childish to ignore Heath's calls. Heath was who he was and no amount of pouting from Liam was gonna change that. Not that he wanted it to, he loved who Heath was. He just wished he could be a little more considerate at times.

"I want you to fuck me."

"What?" Liam choked, "right now?"

This was a line they hadn't previously crossed and Liam's head was spinning with the speed of it now. Five minutes ago he didn't even think Heath liked him.

"No, when you come home. I need you to come home. But first we have to go back to the hospital."

"The hospital?" Liam was gonna get whiplash if Heath kept this up. "Is everyone ok?"

Heath shook his head.

"It's Charlie, she got shot."

"What? How is she?"

"It's bad," Heath admitted before pulling Liam close and holding on tight.

"How bad?" Liam ventured, feeling Heath's arms tighten around him.

"Real bad. They said she's gonna die."

AN: Hope that was ok. Thanks for reading :)