A/N: Hope everyone had a great Halloween (A little late yes) and thank you for the reviews the last chapter! Hope you like this one and please let me know what you think!

The Unexpected Acquaintance

Chapter Twenty-Five

Problems & Ideas

Freddie leaned into the bonnet of the car, his overalls greased and splashed with oil as he tightened the last bolt and leaned back to admire his work; he and Joe had agreed it was best he came back to the business for a bit, especially now Ziggy wouldn't be in the garage for a good few weeks yet.

He grabbed a rag, wiping his hands and moving into the office to write up his report.

Freddie sat at the desk, rubbing his jaw and glancing down at the housing brochure he'd flung aside that morning. It was advertising a beautiful three bed detached about forty miles from Chester, further south. It had its own separate double garage, with outbuildings at the back. A long stretch of garden completed it.

He'd do anything to buy it for Lindsey, to give her the dream house she loved, to get them away from this place. But, it was looking less and less likely to happen. For a start, Freddie had about £300 to his name, and that was it. Plus, Lindsey was nearly halfway through her pregnancy and the only thing they had was the tiny pair of football boots Freddie had brought a few weeks before.

Lindsey was terrified to buy anything, afraid she'd jinx the pregnancy, afraid she'd lose it like the last one. And no matter how many times Freddie told her that it hadn't been her fault, that Frankie had been driving the car... she was adamant she was being punished, and that this baby wasn't safe until it was wailing in her arms.

Freddie's head snapped up as he heard footsteps cross concrete. Robbie appeared in the doorway, smoking the last of his cigarette. He flicked it in the general direction of the exit. Freddie scowled. 'There are flammables in here, you fucking idiot!' Robbie shrugged, moving over to the desk. 'Shouldn't you be at school?'

'I need to speak to you,' his youngest brother replied. 'It's important.'

Freddie sighed, leaning back in the swivel chair. 'What?'

Robbie hesitated, shifting on the spot. He glanced up, a nervous flicker in his features. 'Fraser has a gun. An' he threatened me, saying that he could make me disappear and nobody would even know where I was.'

Freddie stared long and hard, the gears in his mind turning. On one hand, this was Fraser; always there to lend money, or give advice, to help and support where needed. And Mum loved him and he made her happy, they could all see that.

On the other hand? Robbie was hardly angelic and wouldn't blink at blurting out lies to save his own skin... but, he knew his brother and he knew when he was lying. This wasn't one of those moments. Freddie leaned forward in the chair, frowning. 'When was this?'

Robbie sighed. 'Few weeks ago. I was working Ziggy's shift; Fraser's car was in because of the brakes.' He dampened his bottom lip. 'The gun was in his glove box, just sat there! The fuck would a car dealer have a gun anyway?'

Good point and one that Freddie couldn't answer. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Robbie moved, perching on the edge of the desk. 'I told you 'cause I needed someone to believe me.'

'Jason doesn't know?'

'No.'

Freddie nodded, meeting his eye. 'Leave it with me, all right? Stay out his way; any trouble, come straight to mine, y'hear?'

Robbie nodded, slipping off the desk and hitching his bag further on his shoulder. 'I knew I could count on you, Freds.'

Freddie gave a nod. 'Let's just hope it doesn't put us in danger, eh?' He watched as the twin disappeared out the garage, all thoughts of his report write-up forgotten.

Fraser wasn't who he said he was; that much was clear. And he trusted his brother, and he trusted his gut-instinct a helluva lot more than he trusted that man.

It was time for Freddie to do some snooping of his own.

Gabby reached up on her tiptoes, straining to hang up another Halloween decoration on her front door. She managed to hook the plastic skeleton into place, stepping back and wiping her brow. 'Are you sure we're not doing this too early?' Gabby asked. 'Everyone else puts theirs up the night before.'

Mel looked at her, raising a blonde brow, clutching a ghost in her hand. 'You know me; just getting into the spirit of things.' She grinned. 'You geddit? Spirit?'

Gabby groaned, covering her face. 'I'm going to have these bad puns all week, aren't I?'

Mel laughed, hanging the ghost on the wall beside the door. The two women stepped back to admire their handy work; black and orange jumped out at them amongst the scary figures and hanging glow-in-the-dark skeletons. 'I think we've done a good job here.'

'Let's just hope the local yobs don't steal it before Halloween,' Gabby replied, grabbing the empty decorations box and taking it inside.

'Is The Dog still putting on their party?' Mel asked, kicking the door shut behind her. Gabby shook her head.

'I don't think so.'

Mel groaned. 'Eugh; the only other place to get drunk is the fancy dress party at the club.'

Gabby looked sympathetic. 'Awkward, bumping into exes.'

'Tell me about it,' Mel muttered, following her through into the living room. She threw herself onto the sofa, inspecting her nails for chips. 'The best thing I can do is stay out of Trevor's way.'

'What went wrong?' Gabby asked, chucking her phone into her handbag and looking around for her purse. Mel looked sour and didn't answer for a moment.

'It was me, really, but I don't want to indulge in the past. I have my own Halloween party to plan.'

'Here?' Gabby raised an eyebrow. 'We can just sneak in the club and I'll get drinks all night so you don't have to see him?'

Mel chewed her bottom lip. 'I'll think about it. If not, this'll be the best party this flat has ever seen.' Gabby made a mental note to get a lock for her bedroom door; the last 'best party this flat has ever seen' had resulted in most of her wardrobe getting destroyed by rowdy drunks trying to fuck in places unfuckable.

Gabby moved to her bedroom to fetch her jacket; she was meeting Joe before work, her heart doing a little skip at the thought of him. Those dark chocolate brown eyes, the rough stubble on his jaw, his big arms, rough hands roving her body...

Gabby frowned as she entered her bedroom, looking around. Every drawer was yanked open, the wardrobe doors pulled wide, her duvet messed up at the end of her bed... 'Mel?' she called over her shoulder. 'Have you been in my room?'

'Not me. Your sense of fashion is nothing on mine, sweetie,' she quipped from the front room. Gabby's frown deepened, a chill running down her spine. Well, she certainly hadn't left it like this and they'd been the only two in the flat all day.

She was losing it now, she was sure. Gabby huffed, slamming all her drawers shut and when she was satisfied nothing else seemed out of the ordinary, she grabbed her jacket and left the bedroom. Gabby shut the door behind her, moving back to the front room. 'All my drawers were open.'

Mel winked at her. 'Probably a kinky ghost. Is Halloween after all.'

'Yeah, next week,' Gabby muttered, pulling on her jacket and grabbing her handbag. 'Are you sure no-one's been in the house?'

Mel rolled her eyes. 'It was just you and me, remember? And I wasn't joking about your fashion sense; it sucks.'

Gabby flicked her middle finger, her best friend's laughter following her out the house. Maybe she had left the drawers open. Maybe it had slipped her mind.

Maybe it wasn't weird at all.

'I have my 20 week scan on Friday.' Lindsey stood by the counter at Price Slice, one hand resting on her rounded bump and the other clutching a bag of newly brought goods. Cindy was leaning against the counter on the other side.

She grinned. 'How are you feeling?'

Lindsey bit her lip. 'I'm anxious, but I always feel the baby kicking, so that has to be a good sign, right?'

Cindy smiled, straightening up. 'I'm sure everything will be fine.'

Lindsey gave a weak laugh. 'I worry too much. I've not been able to relax yet. Not until I'm holding her in my arms.'

'Her?' Cindy raised an eyebrow.

'I've always wanted a daughter, y'know?' Lindsey glanced down at her bump. 'Fred wants to find out anyway; he's eager to start the nursery.'

Cindy grinned. 'Won't be long now.' Before Lindsey could reply, the door bell tinkled and Gabby walked in. She hesitated a little when she saw her. Lindsey gave a weak smile, which was thankfully returned.

Gabby moved behind the counter, pulling off her jacket. Lindsey let out a breath when her back was turned, glancing at Cindy. 'I'll catch you later, yeah?'

Gabby watched as Lindsey went, her stomach unknotting a little. It was still tense and awkward, but she hoped that would get easier. If things went well with Joe, they'd be seeing a lot of each other. She hung her jacket up, and set her bag aside.

'So, Halloween?' Cindy leaned in the doorway. 'What are you doing?'

'Well, Mel wants to have 'the best party ever' at our flat, so I'm trying to discourage that.'

Cindy grinned. 'Fancy dress at The Loft? Girls' night, all of us.'

Gabby smiled as she moved from the back room. 'All of us?'

'Me, you, Mel, Lindsey. Maybe some of the McQueens if they're in the partying mood. Which they will be, seeing as they're McQueens.' Cindy inspected her blue polished nails. 'Holly wants a sleepover with a friend from school, so I'm locked out all night.'

Maybe if the group was bigger it wouldn't feel so awkward being around Lindsey. And if Mel was there, Gabby was guaranteed to be pretty much distracted for the whole night.

'One problem. Joe was coming out with me.'

Cindy laughed. 'Don't worry, plenty of us will be slagging it, believe me. Go to town.'

Gabby grinned, shaking her head and looking up from a customer came in. 'All right. I'll talk Mel into coming. It'll be fun.'

It'll be fun, she thought. Famous last words.

Freddie had gone over what Robbie had said again and again, but nothing was making sense. Fraser had never shown any signs of being less than normal, of having a second life, a different life they didn't know about.

Freddie was that kind of man himself. The things he'd hidden from his family; they didn't know half the shit he'd gotten up to, especially back home. His Mum would kill him if she ever found out.

Robbie was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He'd accidently found something odd about Fraser, and Fraser was on edge. Freddie knew that. He knew men like Fraser, who think they have power.

Until the cracks begin to show.

He groaned and pushed these thoughts away. He'd figure something out later, but now he had other things to do. He entered the club, climbing the metal stairs and knocking on the office door. There was a pause.

'Come in.'

Freddie felt his stomach tighten and pushed open the door. Trevor was sat behind the desk, going over paperwork. He frowned as he entered, straightening up. Freddie had been stood in front of this desk more times than he cared to imagine, but he had nowhere else to go.

'Trevor.'

'Did you make an appointment?' He raised an eyebrow, elbows on the desk and fingers laced.

Freddie didn't break his gaze. 'I need a job.'

'I don't have any jobs. For Roscoe's anyway.'

'I'm desperate. I need money.' Freddie didn't want to beg, but he felt close to it. Trevor smirked.

'Desperate? You're going out with a doctor.'

Freddie shook his head. 'She can't know about this.'

Trevor was quiet for a moment, tilting his head, musing. Finally, he sat forward. 'I might have something. I need someone I can trust.' At this, Freddie raised his eyebrows. Trevor chuckled. 'Don't get ahead of yourself, mate. I've got enough shit on you to know that you won't fuck me over.'

Freddie nodded. 'What is it?'

Trevor dampened his bottom lip. 'You know Mel Owens?'

Freddie frowned. 'Gabby's friend?'

'I want you to follow her, but don't be seen.' Trevor's eyes hardened and Freddie realized how serious this was. Whatever Mel had done, she'd be in deep shit once Trevor got hold of her. 'I want to know who she speaks to, who she's with, where she works, everything.' He looked grim. 'She's hiding something from me, and I'm going to find out what it is.'

'How much?' No point beating around the bush.

Trevor stared at him. 'Two grand.'

'More.'

Trevor laughed. 'Stepping a line here, Freddie.'

'I need more. It's got to be worth my while.' He stood his ground, not wanting to let Trevor see any weak spots, not wanting him to see the nervous tremble in his fingers.

'Worth your while?' Trevor looked incredulous. 'Are you fucking kidding me?'

'Do you see any other mug stepping up to do this?' Freddie snapped. Trevor laughed.

'I'm going no higher than three grand, Roscoe. So take it or leave it.'

Three grand was ample. Well, two grand would have been enough, but it's always worth pushing your luck. 'I'll do it.'

'I mean it; don't be seen. And you'll get paid when you deliver.' Trevor nodded at the door. 'Shut it on your way out.'

Freddie turned and left, fighting his grin until the door was shut firmly behind him.

Sandy stood in the living room, ironing Fraser's shirts for the next week. Ziggy was locked away in his bedroom as he always was these days, unable to be tempted into coming down, except to eat. Fraser wouldn't be home for another hour and Jason was out with Emmy.

Robbie was slumped in the armchair, dinner plate shoved on the coffee table. He was watching West Ham on the TV. Sandy watched him for a moment, trying to work out how she could broach the subject of Jason's new girlfriend. She'd heard their whole conversation and it didn't take a genius to work out what had happened.

She didn't want this Emmy to play between her youngest sons. She'd seen what had happened to Freddie and Joe, how things had changed. She couldn't bear to see another two go through the same thing.

Sandy cleared her throat and decided to grab the bull by the horns. 'What were you and Emmy speaking about the other day?' Robbie didn't peel his eyes from the footballers running across the screen.

'Nothing,' he shrugged. Sandy set the iron aside and slid the shirt onto a hanger.

'It sounded pretty heated.' Robbie looked at her, brow furrowed, trying to work out exactly what she was getting at.

'Just some shit. It doesn't matter.' Sandy stared back at him, knowing he wanted the conversation stopped, but unwilling too.

'She's Jason's girlfriend.'

'And?' Robbie snapped, sitting up. 'I can speak to her, y'know.'

Sandy sighed, grabbing another shirt from the pile and setting it across the ironing board. 'I don't want a repeat of your brothers.' Robbie glared back at her.

'What do you take me for? Not that it's any of your business.' He grabbed the remote, turning the TV off. Sandy sighed.

'Jason's really happy.' The happiest and most settled she'd ever seen him. Robbie grabbed his jacket, shaking his head.

'It ain't gonna last long between them anyway,' he scoffed. 'So, just leave it out, will ya?' He stalked out before Sandy could say anything word, the front door banging loudly behind him. She sighed, running a hand through her blonde tresses, feeling deeply uneasy. She had a bad feeling about this to say the least.

The Freddie and Joe fall-out was bad enough and only now, short of four months down the line, were things starting to get back on track.

If the same thing happened between the twins, she wasn't sure if the relationship would be so repairable.

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