Rollieo 122: Yes. Upon realizing he meant only to comfort her, Blake trusts Barnaby a little more, and that trust will be revealed in later chapters. Thank you!

x-Emily Tennant-x: Thank you! More coming your way!

An-Outlaw-A-Lady: Thank you! I'll work on that!

Matteic: Hmm...I'll try not to put her through too much. But, it will get better, you'll see... Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Midsomer Murders! I only own the characters I made up!

"Blake, where are you off to?"

A soft growl sounded deeply in my throat. How long was this to go on?

"To see my uncle. I'll be back in a bit, Jerry." I said irritably.

He sighed. "No. I don't want you going there."

I looked him right in the eyes, and glared. "I'm going, okay? I won't be long."

I opened the door of the little black sports car, and flopped down in the driver's seat. Before I could put the key in the ignition, however, Jerry snatched it out of my hand.

"No, it's not okay! I don't want you going there."

I filled my lungs with the cool, crisp morning air, trying to calm myself as I got out of the car, and marched up to Jerry. "Do you really think that just because I'm your girlfriend you can tell me where I can and can't go?"

"No, I don't mean that at all! I just...don't want you going anywhere near that hospital." he said, shifting his weight from his left foot to his right.

"Why?! What is your problem?!" I said in a louder, angrier tone.

"You get more and more irritable every time you come back from there!" he said with a little more frustration.

"It's been a month, Jerry! He hasn't woken in a month! It's very irritating!"

Back and forth. Back and forth. It's been like this for a month. Not all of the arguing, just questions of where I was going, when I would be back. We'd never really broken out in an argument like that before. I could tell the tension was rising, and I knew it was coming, but I didn't know it would hit me full force like this.

There is one good thing about staying with the Williamsons' for a month, however. Through the constant questions, and failed attempts at trying to cheer me up and keep me talking, Jerry had managed to ride me of my stutter. I was finally used to talking, and could talk smooth and normally. I didn't like talking angry, though.

"That's why I want you to stay away, darling!" he murmured.

I took a moment to study Jerry. His posture was defensive, like he was waiting to accept a punch, and his emeralds were dull with sorrow, and regret.

"You've given up on him." I stated bluntly.

He didn't reply. All he did was clutch the keys tighter in his hand, and he couldn't seem to look me in the eyes.

"Give me the keys, Jerry." I said softly.

"No." he mumbled.

"I can't believe you! I can't give up on him, Jerry! I've only had so much good in my life! He's the only family I have left..." I trailed off sadly.

"We're your family, Blake! Just stay here...with me."

I roughly tilted his chin up, and glared directly in his eyes. "I can't believe you're being so selfish, Jerry! What's happened to you? You used to support me! Now you're just trying to keep me locked up!" I yelled.

"I love you! That's what happened!" he cried.

I scoffed, and shoved him away as hard as I could. "Stop saying that! You don't love me at all!"

I did something I'd never done before, then. I ran away from one of the people I loved so much that it scared me. My tears felt like ice, having been cooled by the coldness of the weather. I didn't care, though. I allowed them to stream freely down my cheeks as I leapt over the fence that led to the back yard. As my eyes swept over the small bit of fenced in land, an idea came to my head, and I rushed to the garden shed...

It was at least an hour before I heard the shed door open, but I didn't turn to see who it was. I continued to sit in one of two of the lawn chair-like loveseats I'd found, and just stared at the back of the semi-dark shed.

It was a nice, neat little shed, and awfully tidy. Tools were arranged neatly on the wall before me, and shelves took up the walls to my left and right. I didn't know what occupied those, for I'd only stared at the wall full of tools.

The door closed again, and heavy footsteps neared me. I didn't move.

"Is anyone sitting here?" Mike asked in his usual deep, friendly voice.

"Just you." I mumbled.

I felt the loveseat shift slightly as he eased himself next to me, and a sigh passed his lips as he stretched, and made himself comfortable.

"Why is he so...protective?" I asked without taking my eyes from the tools.

"I'm afraid he gets that from me." he chuckled.

"You're not overly-protective. I've seen the way you interact with your family."

"True." he agreed. "Not like I used to be, anyway."

I looked over at him, and found him gazing softly at me.

"I used to be just like Jerry when I was younger." he nodded. "I was very protective when I lost my first wife in a car crash. I think I nearly drove my two oldest children and Cora nutty with it. I didn't even realize I was being that way until the three of them brought it to my attention."

I stared at him for a moment. "So you're telling me to forgive him."

He nodded again. "It would help things along."

I looked back to the tools. "It's not that simple."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly.

I thought for a moment, anticipating my options. "It's my fault." I finally whispered.

He draped his arm about me, and gently squeezed my shoulder. "Go on."

"That night when we came to visit you in the hospital, Ben had asked Cora if she wanted us to stay. She told him he looked exhausted, and that we should go on home. It took her a few minutes to persuade him, but she eventually got it through his head that she would be alright. So, we left the building. It was really dark out, even with the lights in the car park. I had this...bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to go back inside...but I figured Ben would just think the idea was silly. That's when the two men showed up, and took us behind the building and...did what they did." I paused to look up at Mike, tears in my eyes again. "If I had just told him to go back in the building..."

I found myself being pulled against the tall, strong man as I became more upset. I felt safe in his well built arms, and though his hands felt very strong, and calloused, they were amazingly comforting as they rubbed my shoulders and back.

"If I had only put my foot down..."

"Shh...shh..." he soothed. "I know how you feel."

He wiped my tears from my cheeks when I looked up at him again in curiosity. "What do you mean?" I asked.

He took a moment to compose himself before answering. "I was only a teenager when I married the first time. I had dropped out of school for a while and somehow managed to get a job." he paused to look me in the eyes. "Not one of the smartest things I've ever done. Anyway. It was late when I got home from work one night. My wife had been taking care of the children all day, and was fairly tired, just as me. Tired can lead to frustration very quickly, and to make a long story short, we had a row, and a pretty bad one at that.

"She stormed out of the house, leaving me with the children. Jerry and April were just little things at the time...I couldn't just leave them. I stayed with the children even when I heard the car start." he seemed to falter for a moment. He sighed, blinked, and looked back to me again. "It was around midnight that I heard a knock on my door. The police had come to tell me about the accident."

For the first time in all the time I'd lived with Mike, I saw true sadness in his usually cheerful eyes. His shoulders were drooping, and he'd sort of slumped down in the loveseat.

I reached out and took his hand from his lap, and squeezed it gently. "I'm sorry I brought this up."

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and he stroked my knuckles as he took in a deep breath. "Don't be sorry. I brought it up. The point is, I blamed myself for what happened for years, until Cora came into my life, and helped me straighten things out."

I cocked my head to the side. "So you're saying..?"

"Stop blaming yourself. What happened isn't your fault, so let it go." he smiled. "You didn't know what was going to happen, and you're not the one that pulled the trigger."

I swallowed hard, and looked away. "I'll try."

He chuckled deeply in his throat. "I know it's difficult. Cora and I will help you through it."

I sighed, and eased myself out of his embrace so I could put my elbows atop my knees and lean on them. "I feel like such a child. I'm not usually one to express my emotions. My dad wasn't the sort to listen to it, and he would let me know in more ways than one."

"You're not being childish. Everything you've done has been a reasonable human reaction." he assured.

Silence ensued, then. The only thing that could be heard was Mike's hand as it rubbed slowly up and down my back in a comforting manner.

"You know," he said softly as he sat up. "There's a dashing young man waiting to talk to you just inside the house."

I stood, stretched, and then turned to face him. "Tell this...dashing young man to meet me at the car. I'm going to visit my uncle whether he likes it or not, and he can come with me if he wishes."

"I'm sorry."

I swallowed lightly as I put the car into park position, and shut off the engine. After taking the key out of the ignition and my seatbelt from around me, I leaned back against my seat and allowed my head to loll in Jerry's direction. "It's okay." I whispered as I reached over to seize his hand on the seat. "But, I wish you would have tried to explain in a calmer manner why you didn't want me coming here. We could have avoided the whole thing."

"I couldn't think of anything else to do. You were moving quickly, and didn't seem to want to slow down. I couldn't think of the right things to say right at that moment." he murmured.

"All you had to say was 'let's talk'. I had just woken up, too. You have to realize that when I'm not completely awake, I'm way more irritable than usual." I smiled.

He returned my smile, leaned over, and placed lingering kisses on my lips, cheek, and temple. "I'll try to remember that when I'm chasing you down the driveway."

I paused to soak in the moment as a light chuckle passed my lips. This day had really been an emotional rollercoaster ride.

"Hey." he said as he lightly swatted my arm. "Let's go in. I think that nurse is starting to stare a little too much at us."

I looked toward the front door of the hospital, and raised my eyebrows. "You mean the one smoking the cigarette?"

"Ironic, yes?" he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and got out of the car. A cold breeze immediately caressed my face as I shut the car door, and shivers traveled my spine as I made my way to the front of the car.

"Are you alright?" Jerry asked. "You look a bit pale."

I shook my head and continued walking as I laced my fingers between his. "Memories. Come on, let's get inside."

The inside of the building wasn't much better. I was greeted by the somber faces of friends and family members waiting to hear news of whoever it was they were waiting to see. Nurses walked the halls quickly while trying to read reports at the same time. There seemed to be a low hum of doctors talking to hospital staff.

I remained wordless as I found and mounted the familiar flight of stairs that would lead me to the third floor. I was mentally preparing myself for another visit to that dreadful room. Ben's condition had been getting better, though. Some of the bruises were fading away, but his face and arms were still sort of bluish. He wasn't on oxygen anymore, so at least he was able to breathe on his own.

"Are you certain you're alright?" Jerry asked again.

"I'm fine." I said absentmindedly.

The door was right in front of me. Just a few more feet...

"Here we go." I thought.

I gently pushed the door open, and took a few steps in the room, only to freeze in my tracks. Ben's eyes were open, and he was propped against the headboard looking at me.

ATTENTION!! I have posted a Christmas oneshot between Blake and Ben. Please read and review it! You can find it on my profile, because it hasn't been added to the Midsomer Murders community yet. THANK YOU, AND MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!