My thanks to Sylvain for the beta work

Spectre

Part 26

The visit to the police station, and all that had gone on there, had tired the still-recovering Aaron out; so after returning home and detailing events to Paddy and his mum while wearily picking at his tea, he'd then fallen asleep on the sofa.

Certain his boyfriend would sleep for an hour at least, and that Paddy was nearby should he wake in his absence, Jackson had decided to take a walk down to the garage, he needed to speak to Cain and he didn't want Aaron within earshot when he did so.

Thankfully, the village was fairly deserted and he hadn't had to stop to talk to anyone. He couldn't face a villager's genuine show of concern anymore than he could a gossip's inquisition right now.

As expected, the garage was still open. With Aaron laid up, Cain was working longer hours to keep on top of things. He found the older man at his desk making out a bill. Seeing him, Cain leant back in his chair and deadpan said, "You here to kiss and make up?"

Jackson couldn't help but grin, he was grateful to Cain for breaking the ice, they'd had one hell of an argument earlier, their first ever in fact, and he'd been half expecting the older man to give him a hard time. He should have known better. They both cared about Aaron, they both wanted to protect him, to do what they could to help him, even if their ideas on how to do that differed. Or had differed. "No offence but I'd rather just shake hands!" He knew he'd cleared the air with that comeback and moved to stand the opposite side of the desk.

"How's he doing?"

Jackson could hear the concern in the older man's voice, but knew it wasn't so much directed at Aaron's health but at the situation he found himself in. Cain was an expert when it came to dealing with the police, he knew how their minds worked, and what he was really asking him was if his nephew had given any more thought to doing a runner.

"He's considering all his options, just like you suggested, we both are."

Cain rubbed his cheek thoughtfully, he wasn't quite sure what Jackson was doing here, had he come round to his way of thinking or was he here just to reiterate what he'd said earlier, the latter most likely. Well, he still thought Aaron disappearing was a good idea, and he wasn't about to give up on it, not with the way things stood. "I heard the visit to the cop shop didn't go as well as hoped."

Chas had said she'd let Cain know about the latest development, she'd probably come straight here. "We don't know that for sure, Aaron was able to identify Joel. The police have got a much better chance of finding him now."

"But like I said earlier, that might not be of any real help to Aaron."

"I realise that." He'd had to grudgingly admit to that fact. He paused, having to take a steadying breath, he couldn't quite believe what he was about to say, "That's why I want you to get things moving, get things in place for us both to leave. But I don't want Aaron knowing about this conversation, not yet, not unless he has to. I don't want him giving up the fight; I don't want him thinking I have, because I haven't. I just want to be ready should things go wrong, I want to be able to get him out of here ASAP if they do." He was admittedly spooked, scared about what could happen, no way would he let Aaron go to prison, no way would he let him suffer that injustice, and no way would he let anything threaten their relationship, what they had.

Nodding his understanding, a more than a little relieved Cain said, "You know what you'd be giving up?" Jackson needed to be sure about this. Any uncertainty on his part could hinder things, even threaten their success.

"Just about everything, but as long as that doesn't include Aaron, then I can live with it."

Cain liked that answer; well he liked Jackson, liked and respected him, and he'd been undeniably good for Aaron. The lad was happy and settled because of him… or had been. "It'll be a little more tricky making the both of you disappear but not impossible." Knowing Jackson as well as he did, how sensible he was, how he always did the right thing, he hadn't thought he'd even consider it, and for a while there, it looked like he wouldn't. But he hadn't taken into consideration just how much he and Aaron loved each other, he realised now he'd been wrong to try and talk Aaron into leaving on his own, he should have known that would never happen.

"So you'll arrange things, just in case?"

"I don't want this for him either, you know." Cain suddenly felt the need to make that fact clear. He wanted the lad where he could keep an eye on him, where his mum and Paddy and everyone else who loved him wouldn't have to spend every minute of the livelong day worrying about him. "But it's the lesser of two evils. We both know he couldn't hack prison life, that the Aaron that went in wouldn't be the Aaron that came out. We would lose him."

"I know." He'd like to think their relationship could survive anything but this was a risk he just wasn't prepared to take.

After checking on Aaron and finding him still dead to the world, he'd stepped outside the front door again. His restless feet had taken him in a different direction this time, around the corner and along the quiet road to Oak Cottage. He hadn't been there since the night he'd found Aaron unconscious and Chris dead. He'd deliberately avoided passing the place just like he had earlier, but with Aaron having to go there the next morning, he knew he had to face it and now. A brisk walk had got him there in no time at all, apart from the police car parked outside it and the police tape sealing it off, it looked the same as it always did, it looked like home, only he still didn't think it would ever feel like home again, not after what had happened there.

Seeing him, the policeman had got out of the car, he was friendly enough, even a little apologetic when finding out who he was, that the property was his, well his and Aaron's, that it was his boyfriend who was involved in the murder enquiry. He still wasn't allowed anywhere near the place but the officer told him that should all change after Aaron's visit there tomorrow. The police didn't want anything moved or disturbed hoping something he saw would help him remember details of that fateful night.

After taking another long look at the place, he made his way back to Paddy's. Aaron was still curled up on the sofa, and Jackson stood watching him sleep. The bruises were beginning to fade, the swelling was all but gone, another month or so and his arm would be out of the cast, there would be no physical reminder of what had happened, but what about what went on in his head? He needed to remember what happened, he needed the peace of mind that would bring, at least he hoped it would.

He was just so worried about him, hated what he was going through right now, wished he could make it all go away, make it that it had never happened. He was to blame, knew things would have been different if he hadn't taken the job away. He'd not done a very good job of looking after Aaron, had he? After what Davies had tried to do to him, he'd promised himself he would, that nothing, no one would ever hurt him again. He'd failed him. Well, he wasn't going to let him down again, not ever again. He was prepared to do anything, anything at all to put this right.

/

Tuesday morning dawned sunny and warm, another beautiful day, but it was lost on the occupants of the Smithy.

Aaron had to be at Oak Cottage for nine, and the time was fast approaching. Neither he nor Jackson had slept well the previous night, he guessed Paddy hadn't either, not if his bleary-eyed appearance was anything to go off.

Still the two older men were doing their best to keep him in a positive frame of mind, they were upbeat and the breakfast banter was flowing easily across the table. It reminded him of the times he and Jackson had lived here, Jackson having moved in just a couple of months after Chris's trial. Chris's release had seemed such a long time away then, he'd pushed it to the back of his mind, easy to do because for the first time in his life he was truly happy, he was in love and knew Jackson loved him in exactly the same way. They'd put Chris behind them and got on with the life they shared.

Like Jackson said earlier, Chris was always going to want his revenge. He'd threatened him in court, promised he'd come looking for him, make him pay for his lies… but he hadn't been lying, and he'd thought, believed he'd done the right thing by pressing charges, by taking him to court, especially when the guilty verdict was reached. But now, he found himself wishing he hadn't, wishing he'd let the matter drop; whatever the result of doing that, it couldn't be as bad as what he was facing now, could it?

"Aaron?"

"What?" He'd been so lost in thought he hadn't realised Jackson was talking to him.

"It's time we went."

He looked over at the clock, not wanting to believe it, not wanting to leave the warmth, the security, the love he felt here with these two men. He didn't want them knowing just how scared he was right now; he didn't want to add to their mountain of worry. He certainly couldn't tell them that he feared walking into Oak Cottage a free man but leaving it charged with murder. "Ok, I'm ready." He'd managed to sound like he was indeed ready for anything, but he wasn't, he wasn't sure what he'd do, how he would react if the visit to Oak Cottage brought back memory of him killing Chris.

After Paddy had heaped some reassurance on him, they'd made their way outside. Jackson was driving him, ridiculous really because it was only a ten minute walk, but it seemed neither one of them could face that short and so very familiar walk this morning. Not with what was looming at the end of it. Because what happened there this morning might just determine where they spent the rest of their lives, and they both desperately wanted that to be here in Emmerdale and not some far flung corner of the earth.

TBC