Yes, this is an actual update xD I've been so busy recently, it's been crazy but hopefully, I will start getting chapters posted more often. Thank you!

Seven Men and a Little Lady

Chapter Ten

Baby Blues

'And I got a sticker for this one,' Abbey said loudly, sat on her dad's lap in the pub, holding up a scribbled drawing. 'It's a dog,' she added.

'It looks like a rat, baby girl,' Swill replied, sympathetically. Abbey scowled and shook her head.

'No, it's a dog!'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes, I drew it!' Abbey stuck her tongue out and Swill laughed.

'Alright, alright, it's a dog.' Pete grinned, shaking his head.

'You can't tease kids, Swill,' he smirked, before standing up and moving away from the table. Getting to his feet, Bovver set Abbey on the seat and followed Pete to the bar. The two leaned against the dark wood, stained and scratched, years of marks coating the bar top. Terry came over, throwing a tea towel over his shoulder.

'What can I get you, lads?'

'I'll have two pints of Fosters and a pint of Stella for Keith.'

'Fosters as well, please, bruv,' grunted Bov. Terry nodded and disappeared down the bar to deal with the orders. Pete glanced at Bov with a small smile.

'So, what are you going to do while Abbey's at school? She's going to be there for the next eleven years, mate. So, you can't mope around the house all day.' Bov gave a shrug.

'There's always the pub,' he replied. Pete laughed, but their conversation was interrupted by Abbey running over and tugging on Bov's leg.

'Daddy. What's a cunt?'

Bov stared at his little girl, before both he and Pete looked over at Swill, who was doing his best to look innocent. After a minute, he threw up his arms and wailed, 'It just slipped out, mate, I swear!'

Abbey skipped down the road beside Bov, her dark hair in pigtails, dressed up in her school uniform. They reached the lollypop lady outside the entrance of the school, waiting for the woman to cross to the middle before they strolled across the road.

'I hope we get to do painting today,' Abbey said. 'I like painting, that's my favourite.'

'I'm sure you will,' Bovver smiled, as they walked through the gates, into the school yard. Bov looked up, eyes seeking Miss Dixon almost instantly. A smile pulled briefly at his lips, but he hastily averted his gaze.

Abbey clocked her favourite teacher at the same time and wasted no time in pulling her dad over. 'Miss Dixon,' he nodded in greeted. The teacher gave him a bright smile.

'Please, call me Skye,' she replied. 'Good morning, Abbey.'

'Hello. Are we painting today?'

'Yes, we are,' Skye smiled, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. She looked up, noticing that Bov was staring at her scarf. She frowned, glanced down and then back up at him. Bov was smiling.

'You support West Ham?' he asked. Skye smiled.

'Yeah; I'm not an obsessed fan, but my dad used to take me to matches when I was a kid and the football spirit rubbed off a little on me, I guess. I do enjoy it.'

Bov couldn't help, but smile. This woman, this beautiful woman who had somehow managed to catch his attention, even had the same interests as he did. It made Bov feel tight in his stomach and he wasn't sure if he liked the feeling or not. Skye gave another smile, before looking down at Abbey.

'Shall we go inside to start registration?' she asked. Abbey nodded, gave Bov a big hug around the legs and walked off alongside Skye towards the school.

Rhys Gruffudd strolled down the road, the busy London traffic jamming up the road on his right. Rhys was Pete's brother-in-law, a Welshman, younger brother to Tegan. Rhys had been in prison, but since coming out had managed to change his life around. He and Pete hadn't gotten on when they'd first met; constantly arguing and fighting, until Pete saved Rhys from being killed by a notorious drug dealer, Craig More. He was lucky to be alive and since then, had managed to make the best out of what he had.

Rhys was too busy lost in thought to hear the heavy footsteps hurry behind him. Someone grabbed his shoulder and Rhys spun around, dark eyes flashing in annoyance, before widening.

Stood behind him was Eddie, a large butch man with a twisted face; Craig's right hand man. Rhys reacted quickly, fist flying up to smack him in the jaw. He leapt backwards. 'Get away from me!'

'Wait, wait,' hissed Eddie, hand on his jaw. He scowled. Rhys was watching him, whole body tense. 'I'm not here for you. Well, I am. I need your help.'

Rhys froze, all his instincts screaming against it; this man had come so close to killing Rhys, so close to wiping his existence off the face of the earth and … now he wanted Rhys' help? He wasn't sure if he could trust the bigger man.

'Hello, Rhys,' smiled Craig. He was a head shorter than Rhys, grey hair combed and tidy. He stepped in, followed by four bigger men. Rhys grumbled under his breath as Eddie grabbed his arm and yanked him back into the living room. 'Nice place you got here.'

Rhys said nothing, instead pulling himself out of Eddie's grip.

'So, have you got my money?'

'Straight to the point,' Rhys said, shaking his head. 'Craig…'

'I hate it when you put on that tone of voice, Gruffudd. It means you've not done what I wanted.'

'I'm sorry. I tried.' He gestured at the notes on the table. With a look from Craig, Eddie stepped forward and began to count the money.

'How much is there, Edward?'

'£90.'

'Only ninety?' Craig tutted. 'I thought I was getting £20,000 off you, Rhys. Not ninety.' He shook his head. 'You've let me down.'

'Craig, please-'

'You know what happens to men who let me down. Jesus,you'vedealt with men who've let me down.' Rhys backed off towards the doorway, but one of the men pushed him back to the center.

'You don't need to do this,' he pleaded. Craig sighed, sitting down in the armchair.

'No; well, I wouldn't need to if you'd gotten my money in time.' Then, he gave a curt nod.

Eddie stepped forward, grabbing Rhys and punching him. Another man pushed him over, kicking him in the stomach. Rhys shut his eyes and took the blows, knowing he could do nothing.

Eddie stepped back as the three other men rained blows down on the man curled up on the floor. Grabbing the stereo off the shelf, he came forward and smashed it over his head. Rhys groaned, as Billy kicked him in the chest.

He wheezed, coughed up blood and rolled onto his back. 'Stop,' he groaned.

'Sorry, can't hear you,' grinned Eddie, grabbing a vase off the otherwise bare shelf. He came forward and swung it into his head.

Rhys saw white spots form over his vision, as Todd grabbed his hair and lifted him onto his knees. 'We could kill you right now, so stop moaning and take it like a man,' he hissed into his ear, before punching him in the throat.

Rhys fell forward on all fours, hacking. He couldn't breath. He started to panic, trying to find air as he wheezed and gasped.

Another fist in the face and a boot in the back. Rhys blinked, but his face burned in pain. 'Stop crying,' laughed Eddie. 'Big girl. You can give all this, but you can't take it.'

'Yeah; remember Ryan Reed?' taunted Gary, coming forward to press his foot against Rhys' head. He applied pressure. 'Remember the thrill you got when you pounded his face against the floor until blood came out his ears?' He moved away, Rhys breathing in deeply.

Eddie laughed, kicking him in the chest. 'Remember Darryl Hewitt? Huh? Do you remember pulling his arm so far back it snapped out of place?' Rhys sobbed, the beatings having stopped.

'I was on orders,' he managed to gasp, voice hoarse. He coughed, spitting on the floor. Kneeling up, he stared up at Eddie, a smirk spreading on his lips. 'Just like you are, you fucking little mongrel. Followinghim around like a fucking dog.' Eddie kicked him, sending Rhys sprawling on the floor.

'I aint a fucking dog!' he hissed, stamping on his back.

'Could have fooled me,' he replied, with a manic laugh.

'What do you need my help for?' Rhys scowled, still keeping himself a good distance away from Eddie.

'It's time to take Craig down,' Eddie said with feverish. Rhys snorted.

'I don't give a fuck about any of that anymore! I've moved on. I don't want anything to do with it.'

'Think about it,' Eddie urged, stepping forward. His eyes were gleaming. 'You could be the new man. The new boss. You could have it all, everything Craig had. You could just take it from him. Fuck him over like he did to you.'

'If you didn't forget, you fucked me over as well, Eddie,' Rhys snapped, fists curling. 'You could have killed me.'

'The intention of never to kill you.'

'Don't give me that bullshit-'

'Rhys, listen! Craig has lost in. No one fears him, he's gone down. His reputation is fucked and you could take over.'

'Why me?' demanded Rhys. 'Why not you? You're so eager for it, why don't you take over?'

'I can't do all that shit. But, you. You're clever, you're different.' Rhys raised an eyebrow. Eddie continued. 'Look, just think about it. Please. And call me.' He pulled out a card from his pocket and gave it to Rhys; on the back, he'd scribbled his number. 'Please, just think about it,' Eddie said, one last time before he turned and walked back off down the street. Rhys exhaled heavily, staring down at the number.

God, it was tempting.

Two weeks later found Bovver walking down the street with Skye. Abbey was staying with Maria that day and Skye had called Bov to see if he wanted to help her with her shopping. At first, he'd been hesitant, but with urging from Pete, he'd accepted.

Now, with arms laden with shopping bags, the two headed down the street. 'So, the next West Ham match,' Skye said, looking across at Bovver. 'Are you going?'

'Fucking right, I'm going,' Bov replied with a slight smile. Skye laughed; it was beautiful. 'Are you?'

Skye shook her head. 'I can't, I have things to do,' she told him. Bov gave a shrug and it was quiet for a moment. Skye looked at him. 'But, you can take me for a drink afterwards?' she offered. Bov nodded and Skye grinned. They continued to walk along.

'So, why did you become a teacher?' he asked after a moment; he was curious about her, wanting to know more. He couldn't help it.

'I used to be a reading mentor at another primary school,' Skye replied, smiling. 'Then, I worked at a nursery, but they shut down. I wanted something more permanent, went back to college and Uni and became a primary school teacher instead. Children are so willing to learn, to try new things,' Skye smiled. 'I love being a teacher. You raised Abbey by yourself?' she asked, looking over at him.

Bov ducked his head. 'Kind of. Y'see, I never knew I had a daughter before she turned up on my doorstep as a baby.'

'Where was her mother? If you don't mind me asking.'

'Oh, she was just a one-night-stand,' Bov replied, sheepishly. 'And then I had this daughter I knew nothing about. I had a lot of help from my mates, especially Pete. And his mum and wife 'elped out as well.'

'Most guys run at the thought of raising a kid by themselves,' Skye smiled. 'There needs to be more guys like you.'

Bov smiled, but guilt bit at him, because he'd been close to giving up on Abbey. It made him feel sick now, on how easily he was ready to give Abbey up for adoption back then.

'It was 'ard,' he told her, as they came to a stop outside Skye's apartment.

'It would be,' she smiled. They hesitated outside the front door. Skye took the shopping from his arms and grabbed her keys from her pocket.

'Thank you,' she smiled, before she turned and moved inside. Bov watched her go, waiting until the door was shut before he turned and headed back home.