"'ere, love," Nellie said gently as she handed Sweeney a few ice bags. "set 'em on your 'ead...an' you knee...an'...anywhere else it might 'urt." He groaned in pain as he took them and did so, hissing in pain as the cold came in contact with his bruised skin, but soon let out a relieved sigh after a few moments.

The baker smiled at him and went back to grab the gin that sat on the night stand at her bedside. She sat next to him on a stool beside her bed, the barber tucked tightly under the blankets as he had insisted that he was 'perfectly and get back to work just fine.' But she would have none of it, practically forcing him to lay down and threw so many blankets over him he felt bound by chains! Kagome had helped, having been the work house as long as she had given her more strength than one would expect that of a child, and held his legs down, as to not have Nellie be kicked in the gut.

The child now watched her carefully, a second stool she had brought up beside her, and watched the barber with worry and concern in her eyes.

Nellie took the gin and had a rag put to the top, turning the bottle over. "This migh' sting, a little , love." she warned gently. When she got no reply, she slowly applied the gin soaked rag and he let out a small hiss of pain at the liquor on his cut legs. She bit her lip, but kept moving the rag over his cuts as Kagome watched in wide eyed wonder.

"Whats that?" she pointed to the gin bottle that Nellie held idly in her hand. Her eyes flickered to the bottle and back t the girl, then back to her work. "Its...uh... medicine, love." she answered distractedly, focusing on what she was doing as to not add too much pressure and hurt Sweeney more than he already was.

Kagome stared at the bottle almost longingly. "Well, could I have some? I think my tummy is eating itself after eating those Toffees-", "No, love, this is jus' for grown ups. Besides," Nellie muttered as she set the bottle back on the night stand and grabbed the bandages.

"'M sure its jus' a little belly ache from eatin' all tha' candy," she sent the girl a teasing smirk and she looked away shamefully, but a small smile crossed her face quickly afterward.

"You wanna 'elp fix up Mr. T?" she asked with a smile. She lit up and nodded her head fiercely. So they both sat there, bandaging the barber's bloodied legs in silent, glancing at him every so often.

Sweeney didn't meet their concerned eyes, instead decided to burn a hole through the wall with a stone hard face, as if it could magically turn back time and not have James punch him to begin with. He didn't want their sympathy. That never should have happened, anyway He knew well enough that he could have easily taken the apothecary had it not been for his surprise attack.

That damned man is gonna see how much of a madman I can be when I get out of here, Sweeney thought angrily to himself, a low growl escaping his throat. Wait, why torture him physically when I can hurt him far more emotionally? A small, wicked smirk crossed his pale, bruised face at the thought.

He could already see him, on his knees crying his pathetic heart out as he took his wife in his arms, her voice dreamy and delightful as she proclaimed her undying love for him, as he knew she would.

Sweeney's smirk widened into an evil grin. Yes, there were plenty others ways to cause one pain than just physical.

"Better?" his landlady's soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He glanced at her and the girl, their eyes full of care and concern. It nearly made him laugh. This is going to be so easy, the barber thought to himself with malice. He faked a pain filled groan and clutched at his chest, catching the girls' look of alarm. "Actually," he moaned. "My chest does feel a little..heavy."

Nellie didn't need telling twice. She stood and practically ripped his shirt in two right down the middle. Sweeney's face flushed a little at the baker's...blunt actions. Kagome covered her mouth to keep in a surprised gasp, his eyes wide and her whole face bright red as she caught sight of his bare chest. Nellie winced as she took in the damage as Sweeney looked like he'd been slapped with a cold fish. He didn't really think there were any real damage there, but he was wrong.

James had also used his nails apparently, streaks of dark red ran over his abdomen, his once pale skin covered in dark, nasty looking bruises.

"Oh, love," she muttered, light as feather fingers running themselves over his front. She had no idea that her husband was capable of such damage, always being the kind hearted man she known for so long.

He watched her, his eyes filled with bewilderment as her eyes were wide with fascination at his pale and bruised skin, not anything close to the disgust he was sure would ensue. He held in a soft sigh as her petite fingers seemed to leave a trail of butterfly kisses over his damaged skin, gentle at the cuts and soft as feathers on his bruises

Sweeney was sure if she wasn't repulsed by him, she would be all over his front, hungry hands grabbing at his flesh eagerly. Instead, Nellie only slowly roamed small areas over his chest and abdomen, her hands lovingly graceful with every gentle caress, her eyes filled with concern and love.

"Oh my gosh, Mr. T! What did he do to you?" Kagome's frightened voice gasped, tearing both pairs of eyes from each other and snapped to her, still wide and slightly confused as they have forgotten the girl.

The barber and baker looked at each other for a moment, not noticing how close they had gotten, faces literally inches apart, the feel of the other's warm and uneven breath on the other's faces.

Nellie flew back to her seat she almost fell to the floor while Sweeney looked away, facing the wall again with a determined look, as if not looking at her beautiful, pale face pained him.

Kagome looked between the two adults, an innocently confused look on her face. She had this feeling eating away at her, like there was some kind of awkward tension in the air. But she just shrugged this feeling off as, as Mrs. Stewart had put it, 'eatin' too much candy'.

James paced about the kitchen, a bitter scowl on his face, hands behind his back as his thoughts raced. How dare she! How dare she take the barber's side! In all the years they had been married, she always had his back, and he her. Whether it was a little argument over ridiculous prices at the market, or something as big as getting into a brawl with 'The Great Judge Turpin', they always helped each other out.

The apothecary felt a gentle smile spread over his face as he remembered one time at the market, when she had him run into a shop for women's clothing. The perverts lurking about had laughed him out of the shop, as well as pelting him with rocks, calling him 'A poor, sad excuse for a man!' When his beautiful wife rushed in and pounded on them all with a, very solid and very hard, pure Whalebone Corset she had sent him in to get. They all ran out, dropping more than few pounds as they fled for their lives.

The thought alone of those, what was it, five huge looking drunks, fleeing in fear of a mere frizzy redhead woman, made him chuckle in amusement

Again, the thought of his wife, his dearest love, his lovely Nellie, going against him all because of that damned barber, made his blood boiling. James let out a low grow as James thought of that vile man, how he could just feel his smug smirk as his wife tended to him tenderly, as he just knew she was.

"How dare he!" he shouted aloud to no one in particular. "How DARE that vile swine try to take her from me?" he punched the wall, leaving a very visible mark in the wallpaper, but he didn't' feel the pain, couldn't feel anything past the raging fury inside him. The possible image of Nellie, his Nellie, draped around him,their limbs entangled as their faces crashed together a passionate, lustful kiss-

"ARGH!"

He crashed his fist into the stone counter top, hissing in pain as he felt his bones shake terribly, threatening to shatter on the very spot with a sickening CRRRRAAACCCKKKKK!

James cradled his broken hand to his chest, his eyes shut tight in pain as he groans aloud, fighting back a scream. But he couldn't keep it in anymore. "THAT GODDAMNED BARBER!" the apothecary screamed, his fury more than evident in his voice. "DEVIL, TAKE THAT GODFORESAKEN MAN BACK INTO YOUR FIREY PITS! MAKE HIM BURN! GOD HAVE MERCY ON ME AND MY WIFE AND DAMN HIM FOR ALL ETERNITY!"

He was out of breath by now, his chest heaving as his arms fell limp to his sides, his back hunched over, his chestnut brown locks hanging in his face. James stood there for a moment, collecting his thoughts. Then, A scowl crossed his face once again as he hastily made his way to the bakehouse. He hurried down the stairs, his face set as the warm sir hit him in the face.

He glanced at the burning oven before rushing to the farthest, darkest corner of the room. There, sitting idly in the corner, something under a Grey blanket awaited him. James smirked to himself wickedly before ripping the blanket off, revealing old looking wooden boxes and a third on top of those.

A few years back, after being invited for a whine tasting party, the only thing the two has ever been invited to for reasons unknown, James had, unbeknownst to him, acted rather...um...well, drunk. But more so than normal.

After almost getting arrested, Nellie had put him off his wine. She tried to conceal this by saying how 'expensive the bloody stuff was', but he knew why she really stopped buying the wine he knew she just loved to feel slide down her throat.

So, the apothecary had went out and gotten himself a year's worth of Grape wine from some blokes out of town. James had form then on hid the boxes down in the bakehouse, knowing the room was too dark, even with the oven lit, to see hardly a hand in front of one's own face.

He swept up a nearby crowbar he kept near his supply in his hand, his wounded other hanging limply at his side.

The box split open without much effort as the splitting wood made his eyes flutter close. How he loved the sound of splitting wood. Having been rotting for quite some time, the sound was not as fresh as other times, but James knew the time had only made the wine that much better. He wasted no time in snatching up a bottle and tearing off the cork with his teeth with a sharp POP!

James then drowned his sorrows, his screams of anger, his cries of anguish in the sinful drink, chugging half the bottle in one gulp.

Slowly pulling the bottle from his purple stained lips, his eyes became slightly blurred. But that didn't prevent him from seeing a limp figure laying on the stone cold floor in another corner of the bakehouse. He squinted, trying to focus on the figure.

As he neared, James eyes widened with realization, his mouth hit the floor along with the shattered wine bottle that had slipped from his grasp.


OMG! James found Pirelli! What will happen? Wil he agree with the new meat supply for his wife's sake? Or will he go agianst the barber and turn him? REVIEW AND FOUND OUT!