I know initially this story had lots and lots of parallels with the series, but now that Ste and Brendan's story on the show is over (for the time being) I probably will go to the same places they did less and less often, as you can probably guess from the Ste/Walker interaction. They should have gone there in the show but didn't, so now I can do as I like, risking alienating readers or not. Again, check out the reviews, you all want such different things, I can't promise to go in any particular direction.

Also remember how much I enjoy being misleading before you panic about the above.

Thanks to all you lovely reviewers! Enjoy!

Trying to imagine the club without Brendan was like trying to imagine the seaside without the sea, thought Ste as he made his way to Chez Chez doubtfully. All he seemed able to imagine was Jacqui and Theresa sat around not doing much, then getting an attitude with any unfortunate customers who had the nerve to ask to be served. If that were the case, Ste wasn't sure there was anything he could do. He worried he might find Cheryl pulling her hair out with stress, as drunken yobs made the club a miserable mess.

Thankfully, the reality was nowhere near so dire. Jacqui and Rhys were serving in the lower bar with no fuss, and Ste assumed Theresa was on the first floor with Cheryl. The noise was loud but normal, and Ste was pretty sure it was all running smoothly. There was even someone doing some washing up, so Ste wondered to the front to check on Simon.

The doorman had just greeted a man in a suit, and was ushering him in when he spotted Ste. He nudged the man in the right direction before greeting Ste with his trademark "Hallo."

Trying not to mislead Simon at all about his feelings, Ste didn't answer but smiled at him gently and went straight to business. "How's it all going?" he asked.

"What, Brendan still not trust me?" asked Simon with a grin, as he shoved his hands back in his pockets to check for further arrivals.

"It's not that…" Ste tried to argue, but Simon ignored the lie and merely grinned at him.

"It's alright," he said, "I understand him not trusting me. I am lying to him. Just not about what he thinks I'm lying about."

Ste looked at the floor, "I best go check on Cheryl," he said, and turned to go up the stairs.

"Wait, Ste," Simon called, "I'm sorry."

"OK," Ste replied without stopping.

Simon didn't give up. "Ste, stop."

"I should really get on," Ste called over his shoulder as he reached the first step, trying to minimise the interaction.

"I've found the man who did it," Simon replied in a voice so quietly Ste almost didn't hear the words.

He froze on the second step and turned back to Simon. "The man who hurt Brendan?"

Simon nodded, "Yeah, I wanted to make it up to you both, for those stupid things I said earlier, so I checked out the place the gang meet, and there he was, asleep on an old mattress on the floor."

Feeling a surge of anger, Ste growled, "He didn't run away?!" The obnoxious bastard thought he could just do something like that and get away with it?

"He works for the brothers," said Simon, shaking his head, "he wouldn't dare run away without their permission."

"But he'd dare to stab Brendan?!" Ste gasped.

"On their orders, I know that for certain," said Simon, "This guy, he's just a pawn, a parasite."

Ste was growing angrier and angrier. "He stabbed Brendan because someone told him to?!"

"I know," Simon bit his lip, "I didn't know what to do."

"What do you mean?" Ste asked.

Simon took a step closer to Ste, his voice low, urgent, "He tried to kill my boss, my friend. Should he be allowed to try again, Ste?"

Ste swallowed. He knew where Simon was going, and fear wasn't the only reaction it sparked.

"Or should he find out what happens to someone who threatens us? Who hurts us?"

Ste's eyes were wide as the sun, "You mean… kill him?"

Simon seemed to lose confidence, "I don't know."

Mad thoughts flew through Ste's head. He'd killed before to save himself, and he would kill to save Brendan, he was sure of it. But would killing this man, little more than a boy really, would that really be the same as saving Brendan? He wasn't trying to kill him right now.

Simon seemed to read his thoughts, "He will try again, Ste, and soon, before Brendan is strong again. He or other minions of those bastards he works for. You know they don't dare wait for Brendan to be whole and take his own revenge. They have to try to finish the job, and you and me, Ste, we are the only people standing in the way of them succeeding."

Ste felt panicked, furious and scared, worried and hate filled. Did they dare do as Simon was suggesting? He couldn't just stand by and let them try again, could he?

Simon got closer, voice low and heavy. "We have to stop that bastard, Ste," he continued, "we have to stop him trying again, and warn any other bastards who might try to finish the job, as well. We have to show them that Brendan is protected."

Ste breathed hard. Did he dare? Could he take a life? Was he brave enough?

What would he do to protect Brendan? He did not doubt for a moment that Brendan would do at least the same for him.

"When?" he asked, surprised when his voice sounded nothing like his. It was like a child was asking the question.

Simon let out a nervous breath. "Closing time," he said, "meet me here."

Ste nodded, "Do you have a plan? And like, a weapon or something?"

"I can get a weapon," Simon answered with confidence.

His breathing was ragged, his heart racing. Could he? Was he really thinking about it?

He nodded, before turning and nearly running up the stairs. His whole body was shaking. What had he just agreed to do? Was he mad?

He didn't have time to think about it. Before he knew it he was on the first floor.

He'd never been there when there were people present before, and he didn't feel at all comfortable. These people were unlike any he'd ever seen before. He'd thought Sir Alexander was expensively dressed, but some of these people made him look like a scruff, and Ste look like a nasty smudge on the floor that someone had stepped on.

It wasn't silent though, nor genteel as Ste had always imagined aristocrats to behave. In fact, apart from the dress and a slight tinge to the accents Ste could make out, it was very similar to the floor below, though slightly few customers. After a while he noticed another difference. Instead of standing behind the bar and allowing punters to come to them, Theresa and Cheryl and a few other girls were swooping about the room with trays of drinks, stopping with groups of customers at tables and giggling at jokes. The jokes Ste heard were the same, thinly veiled attempts to flirt with each other and the barmaids, someone played the piano in the corner, though most people weren't listening. Thankfully, it all seemed to be running like clockwork.

Deciding he wasn't needed, Ste turned to go.

"Ste!" gasped Cheryl, "what are you doing up here?"

He glanced back to see her picking her way through customers to speak to him. He turned to her fully and nervously. "Er, just..." he decided not to lie, "Brendan asked me to check you were OK."

Cheryl frowned, "Brendan did?"

"Er, yeah, before he went," Ste replied. He'd hoped for a simple 'Oh that's nice,' or 'don't be silly, I can look after myself'. Instead, Cheryl turned into a wild cat.

"So he found time to tell the doorman and a barman, but not his own sister?" Cheryl snarled, acidly.

Panic surged through Ste, somehow more so than the thought of revenging Brendan's attack. "Er…" he said.

"And while we're at it," snapped Cheryl, "maybe you could fill me in on who the hell this woman is?"

"What?" said Ste, very curious indeed as to who any woman was when it came to Brendan.

"And what the hell he's doing in Scotland?"

What the hell was she talking about? Ste stuttered, "I don't…"

"He's left Eileen, hasn't he? The coward's run off and not even told us!"

"No!" Ste cried.

"Then where is he?!" Cheryl snapped, like it was somehow Ste's fault.

Ste wanted to say he'd gone to Eileen, like they'd agreed, but he found he couldn't lie. The next best thing would be to say he didn't know, but the words wouldn't come. He couldn't let Cheryl think Brendan had gone off with some woman, though he had no idea where that idea had come from. But he was a terrible liar. She would see through anything he said in a moment.

He shrugged his shoulders and turned, trying to escape as quickly as possible.

Cheryl's shrill voice rang easily in his ears, "Steven Hay, you get back here!"

He hesitated, "I gotta get on, me," he said, over his shoulder, "There's loads to do."

Cheryl's voice became dangerous, "You know exactly where he is, don't ye?!"

"No!" squeaked Ste, voice quivering as he knew Brendan wouldn't have moved from the bed where he left him.

Cheryl crossed her arms. "Who's this woman then?" she demanded, "Some Scottish harlot?"

"I don't know!" Ste cried, honestly this time.

"And what am I supposed to say to Eileen when she comes back?" Cheryl continued, voice harsh and probing, making Ste even more panicked, "I assume she is coming back?"

"I don't know, Cheryl," Ste pleaded, "I just told him I'd make sure you were OK."

Cheryl studied him for a long moment, and Ste spent most of it certain she'd seen right through him, into the bedroom in his mind and even the sex from this morning. "Hmm," she said, eventually, "well he's got some explaining to do when he gets back."

"Right," said Ste, daring to hope that was the end of it.

"And if I find out you've been lying to me…"

Ste's eyes widened. She couldn't sack him, could she? For doing as Brendan told him? She didn't elaborate, but let the threat hang in the air, and turned slowly and sedately back to the partying guests, many of whom had turned to watch the interchange.

And where the hell did she get the idea Brendan had gone off with some woman to Scotland?

"Er, Cheryl," he tried, "who told ya he's gone to Scotland?"

"Simon," said Cheryl, "the only one who's bothered telling me anything." And suddenly there was a sob in her voice. "Oh, Ste, I'm sorry, I just don't understand why he has to hide things from me, you know?" She covered her eyes with one hand, and a loud sob fell from her mouth.

Ste stood, feeling stupid, but already wondering what the hell was wrong with Simon. They were going to have some strong words later.

"Cheryl, what's the matter?" Theresa had wondered over, her eyes wide with alarm. "Why's she so upset?" she asked Ste.

"Er…" said Ste.

"Oh it's that brother of mine again," sobbed Cheryl.

"Well, you can't cry out here, the punters'll see!" hissed Theresa, "Ste, take her to the office or something!"

"Er…" said Ste.

"Oh, thanks love," said Cheryl, taking his arm, and starting to walk to the office via the back stairs. Regretting even coming up the stairs, Ste let her lead the way in sullen silence.

Bloody Brendan, making him lie. Bloody Simon, messing the lie up so spectacularly.

They went down the back stairs, Ste trying to think up how he was going to be comforting and convincing in a lie he was not really in certain of anymore.

Cheryl collapsed onto the chair when they got to the office and fell into real tears that terrified Ste almost as much as the knife wielding maniacs he was planning on confronting later that night. She buried her face in her arms on the table, and Ste felt like he'd been plastered to the floor.

"Err… do you want me to go?" he asked.

"Yes," said Cheryl, but it was followed quickly by "no!"

He fidgeted, hoping for some sort of hint about how to deal with your homosexual lover's crying sister.

"I just…." Cheryl sobbed, and lifted her head, "I just feel so lost, you know?"

It was a question he didn't know the best answer to, so he settled for a non-committal sound; "Hmm."

"I mean," Cheryl continued, "I thought me and Warren had something, you know? That we were going to get married, have loads of kids, move back to Ireland maybe…"

Ste was pretty sure Warren would rather have died than done any of that, but decided sharing that thought would be a bad idea. He tried to school his features into an expression of honest sympathy.

"And then, he turned out to be a thieving lying bastard," Cheryl continued with a miserable sob, "and I thought, you know, people make mistakes, Cheryl, but there'll be others. And I'll always have Brendan looking out for me. That's more than most girls have."

"You will, Cheryl!" Ste insisted, "He'll always look after you! He loves you!"

"I don't think he does, you know, Ste," she said, "every time I try and get him to spend time with me, even just a meal together, there's always something. And he doesn't tell me anything. Not who this woman is, not what on Earth's going on with that. You know I don't think he would even have told me about Eileen going if I hadn't invited myself over for tea."

Ste gulped. What if she invited herself to check on the house while Brendan was 'away'? What would she make of Ste and his family living there?

"And all this stuff with Danny! I mean, that man owns half the club and he's in prison for all sorts, and I know Brendan knows something!"

"He's probably trying to look after you, Cheryl." Ste tried.

"No, he's shutting me out!" cried Cheryl, "He doesn't want me to be part of his life. And this is it, isn't it? He's run off to Scotland and I'm never going to hear from him again!"

"Don't be silly, Cheryl!" Ste cried, alarmed by the misery in her voice, "Brendan wouldn't do that!"

"His marriage is over, he's run away with a woman I've never even heard of."

"No, Cheryl!"

"He's gone to a different country and didn't even tell me he was going!"

Ste could stand no more. "No he hasn't!" Cheryl's head was back in her hands the sobs coming thick and fast.

Ste's mouth reacted without input from his brain. "He's not gone away!"

Cheryl looked up. "What?"

Ste swore under his breath.

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