Chapter 20: Threats and Promises

Kane was down by the docks early the following morning, waiting for Benny to come along. He knew that the older man often came down early and he wanted to catch him while there was no one about. He had no idea what he was going to say, it just seemed important to make Benny understand that he had changed, that he was trying hard to make up for the things he had done in the past and that he loved Emma and wanted to take care of her.

He didn't have to wait long, ten minutes after he arrived, he saw Benny walking towards him. He stepped forward, their eyes met and the older man scowled at him.

"Look what the cat dragged in," he taunted. "What do you want, Philips? Taken up stalking now, have we?"

"I've been waiting for you," Kane admitted, not rising to the bait. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Well I don't want to talk to scum like you," Benny narrowed his eyes and spat in Kane's face. "Clear off!"

"Listen to me for a minute!" he pleaded, wiping the saliva off his face. "I just want to explain..."

"Are you completely and utterly stupid?" Benny growled, roughly shoving the younger man aside. Kane fell hard against the railings and winced slightly at the sudden pain in his side. "I have nothing to say to you. The sight of you makes me sick!"

"I know that what I did to Dani was wrong!" Kane said quickly. "And what happened with Kirsty…that was so stupid. But I've been punished for it, all of it! All I want to do is put it behind me and get on with my life."

"Don't make me laugh!" Benny turned and glared at him. "Men like you never change. I should know; I was locked up with people who started off like you. I don't like you, Kane Philips, and if I had my way, you would be out of my sister's life forever. But she sees something good in you, though I can't imagine what. Once a loser, always a loser."

"I do love Emma, you know," Kane said quietly. "I want to take care of her and Jordan. You're probably right about me, Benny, perhaps I am a loser, a pathetic excuse for a human being, but being with her makes me a better person. I understand why you're so worried, but I swear to you that I'd never do anything to hurt her…"

"No," Benny agreed, his voice cold. "No, you won't. Because if you do I swear I'll personally see to it that you never walk again. That's a promise, Kane Philips, and I always keep my promises. So get on with what you have to do, just make sure you stay well out of my way. Understand?"

Kane nodded blankly, knowing that there was nothing he could really say to that, at least nothing that would make things any better. He knew that Benny meant just what he said and it didn't appear as though things would change any time soon. Still, he told himself, as he watched the older man walk away, at least he had tried.

*~*~*~*

"Are you scared?" Emma asked, sitting on Allee's bed and watching as her friend packed some clothes into a small suitcase.

"Kind of," Allee answered, folding a nightgown. "I'm more scared for my family really. We've been through everything together, even Mum's death, but I'm really scared for Gina."

Emma nodded. "I can understand. She wasn't very old when your mum died, was she?"

"Two weeks old." Allee said, zipping the case closed. "Flynn said I was gonna be okay." She looked at the bedspread and smoothed a wrinkle out of it. Emma put an arm around her friend.

"You will be okay, Allee. Don't doubt yourself. Flynn said they caught it in time, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't stop the risks." Allee stood up and picked up the case. "Dad's driving me to the hospital. Will you…will you come with me?"

"Of course I will!" Emma followed her out of the room.

Cameron Andrews stopped the car at the doors to the hospital. "We're here," he said, smiling at Allee and at Emma. "Good luck, Sweet Pea."

"Dad!" Allee said with a weak smile. "Don't call me that!"

"What? Sweet Pea?" Her dad teased. She laughed for the first time in weeks and kissed his cheek.

"Come and see me, okay?"

"Of course. I'll pop up this evening when I finish work, make sure you've settled in.

Allee and Emma hopped out of the car and met Flynn just inside the doors.

"Okay, Allee, we're going to set you up in a room first and we'll put you in theatre first thing in the morning." Flynn told her. "Just follow me."

"Can Emma come?"

"Of course she can," Flynn smiled at them and Emma smiled back, a sad smile, yet a determined one. Allee took her hand and squeezed it tightly, and she squeezed back.

Once Flynn had made sure that Allee was settled, he left the two girls alone for a while.

"How's the counselling going?" Allee asked her friend. Emma shrugged and paused for a moment to consider her answer.

"As well as can be expected," she said finally. "It's difficult, but Flynn says I'm making progress. I've just got to keep going."

"And how are things with Kane? Is he taking it well?"

"I've…I've cooled things down for a bit," Emma admitted. "I just need some time to get my head straight and sort things out by myself. Counselling has brought back a lot of unpleasant memories and I find it…hard to be around him just now."

"But it won't be permanent, will it?" Allee asked. "I can tell you really like him."

"I do," she smiled faintly. "He's absolutely wonderful with Jordan, I never thought I'd find a man willing to take him on too. And Kane's kind and sweet and understanding…and I do love him, even despite what he did to Dani and everything, but sometimes it can be hard."

"Do you wish you'd never found out?"

"I'm glad that it's out in the open now," Emma said at once. "At least now we can deal with the consequences together rather than living a lie. We'll get through all this in time. I suppose the only thing that worries me in the long run is…is Kirsty."

"I see."

"It's not that I don't like Kirsty," the girl continued quickly. "I think she's all right, better than a lot of my sister's old friends anyway. But I feel uneasy about her and Kane being on friendly terms. They have a history and I know that she still has feelings for him. What if he decides that he wants her instead of me? I couldn't cope with being hurt like that again."

"What happened with Kirsty is past," Allee said at once, putting her arms around her best friend. "Kane loves you and it's you he wants to be with, not her."

"She's prettier than me and more fun. And she hasn't got any other responsibilities, not like my Jordan."

"Stop that!" Allee ordered. "You're mature, responsible, strong when you need to be. All right, maybe a bit withdrawn and depressed sometimes, but you are also a good listener and a great friend, someone people feel comfortable with and can really trust."

"Allee!" A faint blush was creeping into Emma's cheeks. She had never developed the art of accepting praise well.

"Now Kirsty," Allee was pleased to see that her words were having a positive effect on her friend. "She might be all the things you said, but she can also be childish, spoilt, selfish, has little sense of real loyalty and often tends to act without thinking…like when she got involved with Kane behind Dani's back. I still can't believe she did that to her own sister. Anyway, she's still young and she'll probably grow up soon enough, but I'm guessing that Kane wants a real woman and I doubt that's going to change. And she is not prettier than you, you're absolutely gorgeous, you just need to make the most of what you've got a little more. I tell you what, when I get out of here, Dani and me will give you a proper makeover. We could have a girl's night in. What do you say?"

"Sounds great," her friend smiled, her face still red. "Just what we all need, thought we'll have to get rid of the younger sisters first. Do you know what Lucy did to my favourite top yesterday?"

The mood lightened a little as the two girls exchanged horror stories about their younger siblings for a while. Finally Emma stretched and stood up.

"I'm going to have to get back," she said reluctantly. "I don't like to leave Jordan for too long and I want to be back before he goes down for his afternoon nap. I'll come back to see you tomorrow evening, after your operation."

"Will you bring Jordan with you? I'd love to see him."

"Of course," Now it was Emma's turn to give her friend a hug. "And don't worry about tomorrow. You're going to be fine, I know it."

*~*~*~*

Kirsty, Seb, Nick and Jade were having a good laugh in the diner, talking about the horrors of going back to school, but that all stopped when Kane walked in. His eyes briefly met Kirsty's, he smiled faintly and she smiled back, a smile from one friend to another. He took his order and left, leaving the atmosphere very tense. Seb was scowling, Nick looked annoyed and Jade was worried.

"What a loser," Seb muttered. "He has a nerve walking in here after everything he's done."

"Let's leave it, Seb!" Kirsty begged. "He's gone now, so let's just…"

"You smiled at him!" Seb looked at her, hurt, puzzled and angry. "He smiled at you and you smiled back!"

"He's a friend," his girlfriend said at once. "There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"He's your ex-boyfriend and the guy who raped your sister!" Seb snapped and Jade flinched and took a deep breath. "Am I the only one who sees something wrong with that? What do you want to be friends with him for anyway? Do you still have feelings for him?"

"Of course not!"

"Since he came back, you've been different." Seb turned away from her. "You don't want to be here with me, do you? You'd rather be with him!"

"You're being stupid, Seb!" Kirsty protested. "The thing with me and Kane, it's all in the past now. Over and done with."

"Well I don't believe it!" Seb pushed his chair back and stood up. "I can't believe it, even though I want to. And I can't stay here with you right now."

He turned and left. Nick glared at Kirsty and jumped up.

"I'm going after him," he told Jade. "I'll catch you later, babe."

He left too, leaving the twins alone. Kirsty had tears in her eyes and her sister awkwardly patted her arm, not knowing what to say. It'd all blow over in time, she was sure. Seb had always been wound up by the mere mention of Kane and having him around wasn't easy…but hopefully things would blow over in a few days.

Next chapter: Emma and Kane finally manage to sort out their differences, but Kirsty is left confused by her feelings.