Title: Protection

Disclaimer: Do I look like Jamie Brittain or Bryan Elsley? The answer is no.

Pairing: Naomi/Emily

Summary: Sometimes protection is for your own good and sometimes it can destroy your very existence.

Note: Thanks as always everybody! Busy week, this is nearly finished, only got another 3/4 more chapters left I think. I hope it's okay, let me know.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The reality of the situation Emily found herself in was not that Naomi had cheated, she couldn't be sure that she had, on her anyway. It was that Naomi had crumbled so slowly in front of her and she hadn't even noticed. The relationship, if it could even be called that, had never been healthy. Emily regretted coming off the medication she'd been on before arriving in Manchester because it meant she'd been unable to control her emotions when Naomi came back into her life. Emotions that she now tied intrinsically to Naomi herself. She'd be upset and angry that Naomi wasn't in fact dead, but did that really stretch to the deep seeded issues she'd come to accept as her own? What she hadn't realised in the weeks that followed, was that Naomi's mental state had been almost as fragile as her own. She'd lost the love of her life to suicide (whether it no longer was the case or not, that's what had caused her pain). Naomi had watched someone she loved be brutally murdered, even Emily didn't think she could come back from that easily and she'd been in and out of support organisations. What it all came down to was the fact that Emily had dealt with the past, what she hadn't dealt with was losing Naomi.

Not knowing about Charlie hurt, but she couldn't live in the past, only remembering the Naomi who cheated on her. She was a different person now. She was stronger; she just hadn't been able to see it. Having Naomi return to her life had not been a step backwards; it was just a choppy wave in a sea that had become calm. The foundation she'd built her new life upon had been rocked and that scared her. Only, she wasn't scared about what the future would hold, she was scared that she would have to rediscover the anger she'd felt towards Naomi and locked up inside. What Naomi had done to Charlie could never be compared to what she'd once done to Emily. Had Emily never met Charlie on a more personal level, she imagined the blow wouldn't have been quite as painful or hard to take. After all, the biggest issue with Naomi keeping Charlie a secret was that Emily had never even considered the fact that Naomi's life may already be full.

Once Charlie had woken up, made her apologetic excuses and left, Emily had a shower. The speed of the last few days and everything in it, she couldn't quite remember when she'd last washed her hair. The water streamed down on her head, soaking her within seconds. Sometimes she really hated showering; it took too long out of her day, she hated feeling cold and having to dry her hair afterwards was a chore she could live without. Other times, the hot water splashing over her, warming up every inch of her skin right down to her toes was a pleasure she wondered how she could hate as much as she did. As she brushed out her hair, drying it roughly with a towel, she paused at what she thought was the sound of a knock coming from the hallway. She carried on drying her hair, brushing it through once again before the knock became louder and more apparent.

'Emily Fitch, you open this door right now.'

Hearing her mother's voice could be compared to Janice in Friends. The mere thought of it made her cringe, but hearing her made her whole body shake with the mere of doing something wrong. How she could have done anything wrong when she lived nearly an hour's drive away from her, she was yet to find out. She gathered the towel back around her bare skin and tucked it in tightly.

'Mum,' Emily greeted with a smile on her face, a smile she didn't really feel but made happen anyway. Once the door had been pushed fully open by her forceful mother, Emily could see that Katie stood sheepishly behind her. She sent her a death stare which quickly turned back into a smile.

'Katie tells me that Naomi isn't dead after all?'

'Well,' Emily began, but she was quickly interrupted.

'So she's up to her usual tricks, cheating on you with some girl who's supposed to be looking out for your best interests?'

'It's not,' she tried again, unsuccessfully.

'I'm going to have to have a word with the head of the English department. This is not on Emily; they are supposed to be supporting you.'

'It's not their fault,' Emily shouted, looking to Katie with all the frustration she had left, most of which belonged to their mother.

'She's right mum,' Katie defended her, too little too late as far as she was concerned. Katie had betrayed her. She'd asked her not to go to the police about Naomi and then she'd told their mum as well. As if her freedom hadn't already been stolen for long enough; she wasn't sure she could handle another stint at Casa Fitch.

'Don't you dare come to her assistance young lady; you're in enough trouble for keeping this from your father and me in the first place.'

'But mum,' Katie began, but Jenna had already turned back to Emily and had begun fussing with her hair.

The whole day was turning into a nightmare. Not only had she had to deal with Charlie, but now she was faced with her family's squabbles. She hadn't asked for her life to become more complicated and she certainly didn't want it. Could she ever get a moment's peace?

'I thought when we get home; we could book you an appointment at the hairdressers,' Jenna smiled, pushing a few strands of wet hair back behind Emily's ears. 'There's a lovely lady on Bark Street who does, your sort of hair.'

'My sort of hair?' Emily scoffed, rolling her eyes at the persistence of Jenna. It had been a while since she'd last come across her homophobic language, the subtle remarks that branded her as different.

'You know, lesbians, she knows all the best styles. I told her that you'd suit it short.'

'I don't want it short.'

'You don't know what you want.'

'Yes, I fucking do and what I want is to stay here and finish my degree.'

The battle had begun and Emily could feel herself losing already. If there was anything Jenna was famous for, it was her ability to persuade anyone to do anything. Five minutes in a room with George Bush and she doubted either of the Iraq wars would have gone ahead. Then there was Hitler, after deciding they agreed with each other about homosexuality, she imagined Jenna would have been able to persuade him to just gas those who dared go against their parents.

'You've only just started Emily, if you leave now we won't have to pay all the fees. I was speaking to the English department at Liverpool John Moore's; they might be able to squeeze you in.'

'When did you have time for that?'

'Whilst your father booked us some train tickets. Now run along and pack your bags, you might want to get changed too.'

'I said,' Emily spoke clearly. 'I'm not going.'

'You'll do as you're told.'

'No, I fucking won't.'