The flowers sat in the middle of the dining table. Adam had put them there when they arrived. There was no card but he liked the flowers in the house. Kim often bought flowers home. But he had rarely bought them for her, that just wasn't the way they were wired. She preferred he bought home donuts, chocolate, wine or just something he saw when he was out that made him think of her. That was much more romantic in her eyes. Flowers were a cop out; it was an easy way to say 'look I did something nice or I fucked up and I am sorry.' It required no thought according to Kim and that suited Adam just fine.

The girls all loved flowers in the garden because their grandmother always had grown them and bought them inside but they didn't really enjoy getting them delivered. It reminded them of death, at least for Lola and Mae anyway and Iris just followed them.

George had sent Mae flowers a few times very early on but once she started actually dating him she told him not to bother. It was sweet but they reminded her of death. The house had been overflowing with flowers when MiMi died and for the older girls it bought back some terrible memories for them from their parent's death. George had always wooed women with flowers so it was an eye-opener for him, his mother loved getting them and he remembered her face lighting up every time Scott sent them to her but he was a quick learner and he really liked Mae and didn't want ruin that sweet thing he felt building between them.

Adam knew Iris wasn't going to love them, she'd like the flowers but not that Colton had wasted money sending them but he thought they were nice. He was getting soft in his old age. These reminded him of Kim and he'd been thinking about her a lot lately.

"Nice flowers Pops." Iris nodded at them as she put her bag down.

"They are for you." He loved the hug he got every day when she came home. His youngest granddaughter slipped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Did you have a good day Bug?"

"I did Pops." She leant over and looked for a card. "No card?"

"Nope. You need to train Colton better."

"I did have him trained. Must have done something pretty shitty." She chewed her lip. She didn't believe it, Colton wouldn't send her flowers, he never had before. "Wonder what he did, or where he's going?"

"Now, now Bug, maybe he just loves you?"

"He does Pops."

Iris sent him a message. 'What did you do?'

'Well this makes sense?' Colton was used to Iris's messages, strange as they were sometimes.

'Flowers?'

'Like I'd waste my money sending you flowers? I'm smarter than that.'

His phone rang. "Hey Bug. What's this about flowers?"

"The flowers you sent."

"Bug, it wasn't me. What does the card say?"

Right now this was not what she needed; she was still a little shaken from the weekend. She had seen Xavier today but he didn't even talk to her, not even a hello. He just ignored her which she found equally weird but a bit of a relief all the same. "There isn't one. Don't freak me out like this Colton, it's not a joke."

"Bug, I swear I didn't send them."

"Colton…." She whispered, her heart was racing at a million miles an hour and her palms were sweaty.

It took him a moment and then he got why she was freaking out. "Hey, hey, just breathe Bug. I'll be home soon and we will sort it out. What did Adam say? Who delivered them?"

"I haven't asked him. I thought they were from you so I didn't ask, he thinks they are from you too. He doesn't know anything and I am not telling him, he'll just worry."

He assured her that he'd be home soon. It wasn't even that he was jealous, he was just fucking angry. He really hoped there was a logical explanation for this but his gut was telling him it wasn't.

Iris was in the shower when he got home, she'd put dinner on before she headed upstairs. She was surprised to see him getting changed when she came out of the shower and he opened his arms wide and Iris snuggled into them. He kissed the top of her head and could feel how uncertain she was feeling. "Hey Baby." He nudged her gently. "Where is my kiss?" Iris turned her face upwards and welcomed his warm lips. "You okay?"

"Not really."

"They could be from anyone." He had to calm this down, even if he was worried. He hated seeing Iris upset and it would stress her out and that would make Adam worry. He would eventually pick up on it, he had an uncanny ability to read his granddaughter's moods. "They are just flowers."

"I know." Colton sat down on the bed while Iris finished getting dressed. "You know he completely ignored me today. I only saw him once and it was weird. I feel like this is a game to him, I don't like it."

"It feels weird but you said he mentioned nothing about the weekend and today he didn't even talk to you. Maybe we are way off base. Maybe it was a buddy and he's embarrassed?" Despite his own nerves being on edge about it he tried to keep Iris calm.

She chewed her bottom lip. "Maybe. Anyway, I don't want Pops to worry so can we drop it."

It was hard to ignore when the flowers sat in middle of the table. Adam liked them, he told Iris it reminded him of MiMi and she didn't have the heart to get rid of them when all she wanted to do was bin them. Colton did at least take note of the name of the florist but in all likelihood they were ordered online and there would be no way to track them, legally. He kept it just in case though.

They decided to ignore it. Even if Xavier approached her the best thing to do was not confront him about it because then he would know she was worried about it. Colton reminded her not to even ask if he sent flowers. He didn't know if it was the right thing to do, he wanted to talk to Gus about it but Iris insisted it was too early to worry about it. He hadn't done anything wrong.

"Still off coffee?" Xavier finally spoke to her a few days later.

"I am. Can't say I miss it."

"You are not jetting off for the weekend."

"Nope, cruisy weekend, catch up on some sleep." Iris wasn't quite sure how calm she sounded but she did her best. Even when he sat down at her table. Colton had asked her to make sure she wasn't alone if she could help it. Right now though she was waiting for her friend Lou who was running late so she had no choice but to sit it out. "What about you?"

"Sadly I'm working."

"Gotta pay the bills somehow?" Iris was usually great at chit chat, but now she was almost tongue tied.

"Do you work?"

"Yeah a little bit." She was trying to give as little information as possible. She was wary about anything and everything she said.

"Where do you work?"

Thankfully she spied Lou rushing through the door. "Hi.." she flopped down in the spare chair. "..sorry I am late." Iris had talked to her about her weird experiences with Xavier and Lou had seen some of his comments on Alfie's Instagram. Louisa had been Iris's friend for a few years and knew the family quite well, they loved her whirlwind personality, she was even crazier than Iris was. She hated being called Louisa though and everyone knew her as Lou, or LouLou. She was happy to run interference and was sorry she was late. "…the lecturer just wouldn't shut up. Hi…" she turned to Xavier. "…I'm Lou." Shoving her hand towards him. "and you are?"

One thing Lou would never be accused of is being backwards in coming forwards. She did everything at a million miles an hour. Whether she could keep everything Iris told her straight was yet to be seen. Iris had asked her not to ask about Colton, like she always did, or mention her family. "What the fuck can I say?"

"Talk about yourself, you are good at that." Iris laughed at the look Lou had shot her. "That's what I love about you."

Xavier was obviously getting annoyed with the interruption. He started to fidget and when Lou kept asking question after question he started to get shorter with his answers until he finally declared that he had to go and left. "See you soon Iris." He spat out, clearly pissed and Iris did worry that they'd poked the bear.

"Okay…." Lou breathed out. "…weird guy Bug. Very weird."

"I know right? It's not just me is it?"

"Nope. My Spidey senses are tingling." Lou told her straight out. "What does Colt think about this?"

"Unimpressed."

He was even less impressed when Lou sent her a message that night telling her that she had some sleazy comments on her Instagram on photos about Iris. "Fuck this…" Colton seethed. "…this needs to stop Bug."

"I know."

"Let's talk to Gus."

"No."

"Come on Iris, someone is going to get hurt and by fuck am I going to stand by and let it be you." He was struggling to understand why Iris was so reluctant to do anything about it. "Remember what happened when George decided to keep things to himself, Mae ended up copping it."

"That's not the same thing." Iris argued and Colton even went as far as accusing her of liking the attention. That went down like a lead balloon and the argument had been ugly. Colton had apologised profusely and had to do some serious back pedalling. His voice was shaking and she had forgiven him. He just couldn't get his head around the fact that she had this family that would do anything to protect her and she was railing against that.

Iris argued that she could handle it and they had tried to ignore it and that perhaps that wasn't the best way to handle it. "I will tell him to back off and if he doesn't then we will talk to Gus."

He wasn't sure and offered to go with her but Iris insisted she had to do it herself but she did promise that she wouldn't see him alone. She'd make sure people were around and she'd make sure that Lou or one of her other friends was always with her.

Iris didn't see him for a week and started to relax.

Strolling towards her car, Iris was checking her phone. Mae had sent her the obligatory photos of Poppy as she had played with Sam today and the photos were cute. The videos she sent made her smile and she promised to catch up with Mae on the weekend, she missed her little Poppy.

As soon as she opened the door of her car she saw it. A rose on the dash and the contents of her glovebox on the front seat.

"Shit…" Iris jumped at the voice behind her. "…someone broke in? Did they take anything? And they left a calling card. That's a little creepy right?"

Colton felt his phone buzzing in his pocket but he couldn't get to it right now. He was in the middle of a presentation on the quarterly budget projection and it was the first time he had been asked to do it. His phone stopped and then started again. The third time it rang he got distracted. "Something the matter?" His boss, Jo asked him.

"Ah, not sure."

Javid Singh looked annoyed. "Do you want to get it?" Even though the CFO offered Colton knew enough about this guy to know it would be a career limiting move to take a phone call in the middle of a presentation. Even his boss was subtle in her head shake.

"No, my apologies." He reached into his pocket and turned it off and refocused on the presentation.

It nagged at him though and his heart was in his throat when he saw four missed calls from Iris and three text messages. "Problems?" he swung around and came face to face with the CFO, Javid in the hallway after the presentation.

"Perhaps."

"Nice presentation, very impressive."

"Thank you. I really am enjoying the challenge of this role." He'd moved sideways into a different finance department with a different focus. His aim was to get as much experience in all facets of the business as he could.

Javid tapped his phone when it rang again. "Someone really wants to talk to you."

"My partner, she's having some issues with a strange guy at college, she's being stalked." He felt like he had to explain. He didn't want Javid to think he was more interested in his girlfriend than his job.

"Take the call." He walked away.

"Bug? Are you okay?" Iris answered on the first ring.

"Can you come home?" She sobbed.

"Bug? What's happened? Is it Pops?"

"No, no my car was broken into and someone left a rose on my dash. He was there, when I found my car he was there." He struggled to understand her between the gasping breaths, she was beside herself.

"Fuck Iris." He barked, trying to get her to slow down and then regretted it. "Please Bug, breathe baby, please. Where are you? Who is with you?"

"I'm at home, nobody is here. Pops is with Lola today and I didn't want to worry him." She was jumping at shadows and every little noise terrified her. He knew where she lived, he knew she was shaken and it was freaking her out. Colton wanted her to go to Gus's or Mae's house but she was paralysed by fear and refused to leave her home.

Colton knocked on his boss's office door. It was the last thing he wanted to do but the only thing he could do. "I'm really sorry but I need to go."

"The phone calls."

"Yes. Look I'm sorry, Iris is being hassled by someone, it's kind of getting to stalking level. Her car was broken into today and this guy was there when she found it, he knows where she lives and she's at home alone."

Jo had met Iris a few times, she liked her. She was a nice girl and Colton didn't talk about her a lot but when he did he talked quite highly of her, she wasn't an over anxious demanding partner, despite being young and she didn't hassle him constantly or call him every hour. She seemed level headed when she had met her and she had been fascinated to talk to her about the BraveHearts foundation and her role with them. They didn't do a lot but all of them were involved in some way. Jo was going to assume if they were worried there was a reason for it. One thing she did ensure was that even though this job demanded a lot of time and focus, family always came first. "Go." She waved him away. "I hope Iris is okay. Let me know if there is anything we can do."

She flew out the door as soon as she saw his car and he barely got out before Iris flung herself at him. "Hey, Hey.." He held her tightly. "…I am here now. Let's go inside." Colton tugged on her arm. "Pops still not home?"

"No they will be back soon."

Sitting Iris down on the couch he held her hands, trying to stop them shaking, she look terrified. "What happened Bug?"

"It's stupid. I think I overreacted."

"Bullshit. Tell me?"

"I haven't seen him in a week and then today he was just there. I walked towards my car and when I got there, the window was broken and this rose was on the dash, it freaked me out, then I opened the door and all my shit was on the front seat, from the glovebox. He was right there, like peering over my shoulder." She covered her face with both hands, rubbing them angrily a few times and groaning.

Iris had jumped out of her skin when he spoke to her. "What the fuck?" panicking a little Iris pushed him away from her. "Get away."

"Hey Bug…" Iris nearly vomited, why was he calling her Bug? That was a family nickname, and he had obviously got it from Alfie's Instagram and also from Lou's. Nobody called her Bug without Iris telling them it was okay and she rarely did it. Lou and two other of her close friends were the exception.

"What the fuck did you call me? My name is Iris?"

"Sorry Iris." He held up his hands. "Just seeing if you are okay. You look a little freaked out that's all."

"I'm fine. Thank you." She jumped in her car, slamming the door. He stood with his hands in his pockets before reaching through the window and grabbing the rose.

"This is weird right?" Holding up the rose he smiled at her.

Iris slammed her car into reverse and backed out. She was lucky that there was no cars behind her because she didn't even look. Glancing in the rear mirror she saw him still standing there, holding the rose. She held it together until she got home. Her first thought was to drive to Lola's but she knew Adam was there and until she had talked to Colton she didn't want upset Pops, especially not after the whole Mae debacle.

"Did he touch you? At all? Did he hurt you?"

"No, he was just really close, it scared me. I wasn't expecting him there." Iris shook her head and nervously pulled her hair tie out and redid her pony tail. It was a nervous habit of hers and one that Colton knew well and he let her go for a few moments before he reached for her hands. "He called me Bug. What the fuck? It made me feel sick."

"I've had enough Iris, seriously. This is getting too much for us to handle. I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt. That's what scares me the most is you getting hurt."

"Can we not talk about it for a little while. I just want a sit here with you for a bit."

Colton scooted back into the corner of the couch and Iris settled herself into his arms and that's where Adam found them when Lola bought him home. It had got dark out and apart from a small lamp that was set to come on at a certain time they were comfortable in the quiet darkened room.

"What's wrong?" Lola took it all in. Something was off, she could tell just by looking at Iris.

"Nothing, just having a cuddle, one of those days." Iris sat up suddenly as Lola set Sam down and he was flinging himself at his Aunt. "Hey, hey my little Emu." She smothered him with kisses and he giggled and squirmed. "I've missed you. You've grown, even since last week, what does your Momma feed you?"

"Bug, Bug." He chanted, clapping his hands on her cheeks and returning her kisses.

Colton slipped upstairs to change out of his work clothes and then headed into the kitchen to start dinner and that's where Lola found him. "What's going on Colton? What's up with Bug?"

"Nothing to worry about Lola."

"Bullshit."

He sighed. Iris didn't want anyone to know, she was adamant about that "Lola, she's just feeling rough today. One of those days."

"Did something happen? Did someone say something?"

"No, she just needed a cuddle. Sam wasn't here so it was me. Look at her now." They could hear her chasing Sam around, he was squealing with joy. "Please don't worry Lola."

"I do worry about her."

"You all do, I also know if I don't you will kick my ass and I don't feel like an ass kicking."

Lola just nodded and smiled tightly, he was giving her nothing but she knew pushing him wouldn't work. He was a good guy, they knew that and he looked after their Bug. However, she knew something was going on but they weren't ready to talk about it so she had to take him at his word. It frustrated her; everything was a little more intense since Mae's incident.

Before she left she just checked in with Iris. "You and Colton are good?"

"What? Yes, Lola we are great. You know how some days you just want to curl up with the person you love and not think about anything?" Lola nodded. "That was today."

Lola picked up on her choice of words. "Not think about what?"

"Just life Lola Bear, just life." She hugged her sister and was pretty sure Lola didn't believe a word of what she was spinning but that's all she was getting. Iris was every more determined to keep Lola out of it. She was pregnant, just over four months and Iris would do anything to not stress Lola out.

If only it was that easy though, it wasn't just a bad day, it was about to escalate beyond their control.

Lou had been a little surprised when she caught up with a friend of hers for a drink and she had called her a 'sly little minx.'

"Why? What have I done now?" Lou was used to be called all manner of things, she was always out there and rubbed some people the wrong way. She was, however' loyal to a fault to her friends.

"I thought you and Iris were besties?"

"We are?" Lou's looked at her friend Shelby like she was speaking spanish. "What the fuck are you on about?"

"Still?"

"Still? Are you fucking high or something?"

"Surely she's not still your friend after you fucked around with Colton. Gotta say I am surprised; I didn't think you liked dick and I would've thought you'd want to fuck Iris not her boyfriend if anything." Shelby was certainly on Lou's side of the fence and had always been a little jealous that Lou's best friend was straight and had never felt threatened by Lou. Shelby's best friend had dropped her like a hot rock when she came out.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I saw Iris on Facebook."

"Iris isn't on Facebook." Lou shook her head. "She hates it."

"Oh she is now." Shelby pulled out her phone and showed her Iris's profile. Lou ripped the phone from her hand and was horrified.

"Unfollow that fucker." She snarled.