Dougie's hangover didn't really go away until the next morning, aided in it's departure by glasses of water, aspirin and ham sandwiches left in his bedroom at hourly intervals for each time he awoke, tired and in pain. He slept solidly, with no nightmares breaking through his sleep. At ten the next morning, the guys entered his room to wake him up and talk.

"Dougie. We have a serious problem here if that is how you deal with emotions." Tom began. "Why did you do it? Why didn't you talk to us?"

Dougie shook his head, choosing to remain silent.

"Dougie, talk to us." Harry quietly said, looking closely at the boy who had come to be his best friend over the last few months, as well as that time eight or so years previously.

Again, Dougie shook his head.

"You're getting counselling, Dougs, whether you like it or not. You'll have to talk to them, you may as well talk to us as well." Tom informed him. Danny didn't speak, choosing not to express exactly what he thought of what Dougie had done. He was pretty sure that his words would do more harm than good.

Dougie glared at them. "You really don't get it, do you?" he growled, shocking them all with his harsh tones.

"Get what, Dougie?" Tom asked.

"It was the same then as it is now! I'm just a kid to you! I might be fifteen and you're all seventeen and Tom's pretty much eighteen now, but I still have thoughts and feelings! You keep on treating me like some little kid who doesn't know anything, and it fucking hurts me." Dougie choked out.

"No we don't!" denied Danny, furious at the suggestion.

Dougie stared at him. "Yes, you do! It should be my decision whether I have counselling and stuff like that, not you three's! 'You're getting counselling whether you like it or not'. No! You can fuck right off!"

"Is this what you've been so pissy about, Dougs?" Harry sadly asked him. Dougie ignored him, but a little tear came out of one eye.

"We really haven't been great at this, have we?" Tom added.

Dougie looked up at them. "It's not just that. It's the whole thing that happened when we were kids as well. It's a huge part of my life that I couldn't even fucking remember until the other day. I wish we hadn't had that treatment in the first place. I'd be over this all by now."

Harry slipped his arms around Dougie, Tom grabbed his hand and Danny sat down right next to him, one arm around him. There they sat for almost an hour, each quietly thinking to themselves about the mess that they were in.


"I, Thomas Fletcher, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Tom said, smiling a tiny bit at how silly it sounded in his ears. The four of them were dressed in matching black suits, and as the oldest of the four of them, he had been called up first to testify. Cassie had gone first – they'd watched her, and all of them had gotten tearful at what she had said.

"Now, Mr Fletcher, tell us in your words the events leading up to the kidnapping. Were any safety precautions overlooked – windows left open, doors unlocked, things like that?"

"No, Cassie was great! She kept us all safe."

"Did you in anyway feel uneasy in the day before the kidnapping?"

"No, we were all fine."

The questions went on and on, unrelenting. Then came a question which Tom couldn't forgive.

"Now, Mr Fletcher, we have record that you underwent memory repression therapy. You recently had your memories excavated – how sure are you that what you remember is the truth?"

Tom stared at them menacingly, rage filling him. "I am 100% sure that what I remember is truth! Do you think I'd have cried – truly broken down and cried – afterwards if I wasn't sure? Do you think us four would be so broken if what we remembered wasn't the truth? Do you think we'd have the same memories as Cassie if we'd made it up?" he exploded.

"Very well. Next up to the stand, Mr Harry Judd."


The four of them combined must have talked for almost two hours as they answered question after question. Steve, Carlos and Pedro weren't in the room, for which they were glad, as all were certain that they would cry pretty badly if and when they saw them. Finally, they were sent away to have a break while the judges deliberated. Steve, Carlos and Pedro weren't allowed to further defend themselves – their fate was still going to be negative, no matter what happened.

"You did well, Dougie." Danny said, grabbing his friend into a bone crushing hug. Harry and Tom nodded, and the four ended up in a squishy, happy hug. That was, until, Tom saw out of a window over Harry's shoulder – and saw the three men climbing out of a police van, handcuffed and each restrained by two burly officers. The other three felt Tom's grip on them slacken and turned to look. They reacted differently – Harry stiffened up, a look of anger crossing his face, Danny sat down abruptly on the floor while Dougie started to cry immediately, his nightmares coming true. The curtains of the window were hurriedly shut by an officer when they realised who were just outside, but it was too little, too late. Tom grabbed Dougie and pulled him away from where he was staring at the shut curtains, trying not to cry himself. Every kid has those nightmares where the monsters come to get them, right? For McFly, that day, it came true. The monsters had come back to get them. And they didn't know with any certainty that they could cope with that.


An extra half an hour was granted of respite due to 'unforeseen trauma' before everyone had to re-enter the court. McFly spent it cuddled together on a sofa, not talking about what they were all trying to avoid thinking about. Tom was sat against one arm of the sofa with his legs going down the middle. Danny was sat in between his legs, with Dougie inbetween his and finally Harry at the end. They curled up together, arms around the person in front, using the warmth and stability of each other's physical presence to reassure themselves. However, after a while they were called back through. Sat right there were Carlos, Steve and Pedro. They looked a lot older, and had gained weight, but their faces were still terrifying to the four. McFly kind of zoned out during the legal jargon, until...

"The jury have unanimously voted you all guilty as charged, with the current sentence of life in prison without chance of appeal or bail. Sentence given." The judge tapped the desk with their hammer, and people began to file out. Just as the kidnappers were being taken out, however, Steve struggled with the officers, punched one so hard he knocked him out and ran, hard. He didn't get far, of course. He did, however, get far enough to run right up to Danny who was walking in front of the other guys, and shout,

"You'll pay! You'll pay for this!"

Officers grabbed Steve and yanked him away, while people swiftly moved the guys out of the court room and into the waiting area. The four of them would have been absolutely destroyed by such a statement an hour before: now, they were only mildly discomforted. He was going to be in prison for his entire life. He would die there, and there was no chance of that changing.


When McFly got home that night, they spent a long time talking. Just talking about little things and issues, memories from their childhood. Ripping a plaster from a wound hurts, but in the end it is good for the wound to air and heal. Going to court ripped off their plaster, and while it still stung now, in time they would come to cope with it. The scab that was left would heal into smooth skin. Time would ensure that. Well, time and plenty of friendship.

~fin~