Thank you for the reviews.

I am sure you all feel for Amelia at the moment. But I think there are two people that are more than ready to do something about it. Isn't there?

Don't Worry, I'll Deal With It

"I am just going to have to do it, aren't I?" Amelia said.

James sighed before he looked up at her. "Amelia, they need to know. Even if nothing happened."

"I know. It just isn't going to be easy."

"I know. But don't worry, I'll deal with it. It isn't like I haven't punched him before, is it?"

"What did he say to you then?"

James turned away from her, carrying on with his task of getting the house back to the way it was. He knew why what happened had happened and he knew that he would have to thank Bolton for coming to Amelia's aid.

"He said something about if Mum looked like you, then it might be some wank material." He said.

"Why did he say that?"

"Because he was asking whether Mum was just a prostitute. Because he didn't want to start watching some porn and Mum showed up in it."

"So why?"

"Amelia, if I could answer that, then I don't think I would be asking myself the same question."

"Jamie, I don't want you to get into trouble for me."

"It is one of the reasons to get into trouble." He dropped the rubbish bag onto the floor and walked over to her, sitting down on the sofa and putting his arm around her. "It will be okay, okay? We've got you."

"It just has put a damper on our 18th birthday. The last birthday that we are going to spend together."

"You now know I am going to make sure I am in Bath for our 19th birthday now. Actually, wherever you are in the world, I am always going to make sure that we spend our birthday together."

James felt her head drop against his shoulder and her tears started to soak his t-shirt.

"I've missed you." She whispered.

"Don't worry. I am back for good. And I am here to look after you. You know, as your older brother."

She let out a snort. "Seven minutes."

"Seven wonderful minutes where I was an only child."

"You would be so lost without me."

"Yeah. I would."

Walking into the kitchen to see not only her parents but Melissa there wasn't ideal for Amelia. The small smile from James told her that he knew about it and forgot to tell her with everything else that had gone on. His hand rubbing down her back was the comfort and confirmation that she still needed to do what they had talked about. They had already told Philip what had gone on, with him understanding why it was best that he stayed where he was and left them to it.

"Good party?" Her mum said.

"They aren't hungover. You aren't meant to remember your 18th." Melissa said. "So it wasn't a good party."

Amelia couldn't stop her arms from wrapping around her.

"Amelia? What's wrong?" Her dad said.

Of course, he was going to pick up on it. Definitely after spending the last seven months looking out for her and when she was feeling low. And of course, all Amelia wanted to do was fall into his arms and for him to tell her that everything was going to be okay.

The only problem was Melissa.

"S-s-some… something happened," Amelia said. "Ben Lucas. H-h-he." She sighed. "He tried to force himself on me."

Her mum was over to her in an instant and she was sure that her dad wanted to do the same thing by how tightly he was holding onto the worktop that he was leaning against. She couldn't stop herself from leaning into her mum, knowing that her mum probably had had it worse than someone just trying to force themselves onto her.

"Well, you must have shown him that you were interested in him," Melissa said.

If it wasn't a childish thing to do, Amelia was sure that her mum wanted to put her hands over Amelia's ears, just so she didn't hear that. Meaning that Amelia knew that her mum was going to spend the rest of the day (and longer) convincing her that it wasn't her fault at all and that Melissa was wrong.

She was sure that the only reason James took up a similar position to their dad was because he would have finally done what he wanted to do when their auntie turned up and tried to shake some sense into her. If Melissa wasn't so oblivious, then Amelia was sure that she would have seen what they were trying to hide from her.

"He made a comment before the fire," James said. "About whether Amelia looked like you when you were younger, Mum. Because… it would make… good material for… when he was alone."

"What?" Her mum said, holding onto her even tighter.

"It's fine, Mum. I'll deal with it."

"You will not. Eddie, can you deal with it?"

Amelia got the feeling that her dad and brother wanted to sort this out in exactly the same way and it was the completely opposite way to how her mum wanted it to be sorted out. Which is why Amelia felt like there had been a secret pact agreed between the boys as they looked at each other.

"I'll work out a way to bring it up." Her dad said.

"I think that this is being blown out of proportion," Melissa said. "Nothing happened. He only tried."

"I think you better go." Her mum said.

Amelia knew that her auntie hadn't worked out what she had done wrong and probably never would realise how wrong what she had said was. It did, however, mean that her auntie did leave. Meaning that the moment her mum let her go, she found herself in her dad's arms. The man that was always hoping to catch her.

"James, you aren't dealing with it." Her mum said.

"I should have asked Bolton more when he was throwing Ben out," James said.

Amelia placed her head on her dad's chest knowing that this was a conversation that they were going to have a lot over the weekend and she didn't know what she did want to happen with who was going to sort out Ben.

Philip got that he wasn't as confident as James and Amelia. But like them, he should be used to starting at a new school, with his mum moving him around just as much as his cousins were moved around by his auntie.

But this was the first time that Philip had ever attended the same school as his auntie and cousins and part of him was wondering whether it was a good idea. He couldn't stop himself from pulling on the straps to his backpack as he walked through the school gates (with his mum telling him that Eddie had sorted everything and to see him first thing to sort him out).

Philip supposed that this was better than having to travel an hour and a half on the train every day to go to the school that he was at. It just wasn't easy because he was in the last year of his GSCEs. But then again, James and Amelia had done it. Maybe he could do it as well.

The last thing he expected was for his cousins to fall in step either side of him. He thought that they would want to avoid him.

"Are you ready?" James asked.

"I don't know," Philip said.

"Probably the best way to be," Amelia said. "This is a completely different school to any you've been to before."

"And any problems, come to us first," James said.

"I-I…" Philip started.

"Mate, you're our cousin. Family always comes first. I just wished your mum would realise that."

"Are you okay Amelia?" Philip asked, turning to her.

"Yeah. Yeah. I've got people looking out for me so." Amelia said.

"And I'm going to sort it," James said.

"What have you and Dad decided?"

"That is for us to know and for you to find out. The less you know, the less Mum is going to be mad at you. We don't want to make you an accomplice."

"Jamie…"

"Don't worry. We are dealing with it." James said before he left them by going off into the school from a different entrance.

"I think I worry more when he says that," Amelia said.

"He cares."

"Both him and Dad. I can only imagine what they have come up with if they don't want me knowing. Mum is going to go ballistic."

"You can go," Philip said, pulling on his backpack again.

"Not when you don't know where you are going. Come on, I'll take you up to the office area."

Philip wondered how different things were going to be. Not only because he was starting at a new school but because, for the first time ever, he was going to have his cousins and auntie more in his life. And maybe he was even gaining an uncle at the same time.

The idea was to leave it a little while before doing anything. For one, it would give Rachel enough time to forget about Jamie saying that he would sort it (which Eddie didn't believe for one second but he felt like he could dream) and two, it would make Ben Lucas think that he got away with it.

The moment that Jamie told him that there were whispers that Ben was saying about how he'd had sex with the prostitute's daughter and saying that he hoped that the prostitute was better than the daughter, Eddie knew that it was time to act. Mainly to stop himself from punching Ben's head in.

So with the text from Jamie saying that he was going to do as they planned, Eddie could only sigh and leave the office to find where they were. Part of him wished that Jamie had the foresight to not do it on school property. That way he would have to punish Jamie for doing exactly what Eddie wanted to do himself.

But as Eddie leant against the bannister, watching Jamie with Ben and his friends, it didn't really matter how mad Rachel was going to get at them over it. This was for Amelia. This was because she wouldn't have been believed if they went to the police because (as annoying as Melissa's comment was) nothing happened. There was no evidence other than Amelia's word. Which he believed more than anything in the world.

He briefly looked over at Tom as he joined him.

"What's going on?" Tom said.

"Something that should have happened a while ago," Eddie said as Ben pushed Jamie.

"Shouldn't you break that up?"

"I think he is doing an alright job. I mean, it would be better if this wasn't happening on school property."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, I've got to allow Jamie to throw the punch before I intervene."

"Why?"

If anything, Eddie was impressed with the punch that Jamie threw at that point, reminding him of the punch that he threw at Stuart. It was clear that Ben wasn't ready for it and nor was his friends. Meaning that Eddie needed to intervene before Jamie got hurt as well.

"Because he almost took advantage of Amelia," Eddie said before he started storming down the hall. "Jamie Mason, my office now." He shouted. "Mr Clarkson, could you sort out Ben please?"

Eddie was actually having a hard time pretending to be angry at Jamie. If anything, he wanted to pat him on the back and tell him that it was a good punch. Which is why, once they got to the office, he held out his hand.

"Nice punch," Eddie said as they shook hands. "I have to give credit where credit is due."

"Why do I still think I am in trouble?"

"Yeah. As much as I would love to give you a slap on the wrists, it is going to be lunchtime detention for the rest of the week and an after school detention today. Just because you did it on school property."

"Totally worth it though."

"I couldn't agree more."

Rachel didn't agree. Rachel was furious when she found out and that was only because both Eddie and Jamie couldn't lie to her when they were asked why they were late home. Eddie felt like Jamie got off with it lighter than he was going to. Mainly because she had asked him to deal with it and she thought that he had done.

"Did you allow that to happen?" Rachel almost shouted at him.

"Rachel…"

"Don't give me that. I asked for you to deal with it and you told me you did."

"And in the end, it would have either been Jamie or me."

"Excuse me."

"I did have a word with him. A stern word about it. But he denied that anything happened. Actually, he was threatening to say that Amelia came onto him. Did I tell Jamie that? No. So when Jamie came to me, telling me that Ben was talking about Amelia being the prostitute's daughter and saying that they did have sex and that." He sighed. "That he… didn't rate Amelia, was I meant to discourage him? Rachel, I grew up around boys that thought that if they were nice to a girl, then they deserved to go all the way. You were completely right when you described my friends the way you did that night. Because that is what they believed."

"So how is punching him going to help?"

"It makes me and Jamie feel like we have done something about it. I am a firm believer that things will change but… it is the few like that that ruin it for the rest of us. You can't stand there and tell me that you didn't lose faith. That you believed that every man was after you for one reason and one reason alone. Before, during and after you did what you did."

"Not when I had one man show me that it wasn't always going to be like that," Rachel whispered.

"But I gather that is it, Rach. Jamie's handbook on how to treat a partner? That isn't because you have had loads of guys like me in your life. It is because you have been surrounded by Ben Lucas' and they get away with it every single time."

"But James punching him is only going to stop him from doing it to Amelia again."

"But we can't go to the police because, and I hate to say it, nothing happened. Thankfully. It would be her word against his and she would say he came onto her and he will say she came onto him. Rachel, trust me, I want to protect her from the world. But there are just going to be some battles that we aren't going to win. Unfortunately, this is one that we were never going to win with procedure and doing things by the book. It has now been dealt with. Not in the way that you wanted it to, but in the only way that we guys know."

Rachel sighed. "I'm still not happy about it."

"I don't expect you to be. I would think that there was something wrong with you if you were."

"Maybe it is just proving how grown up they are now."

"Rachel, whatever happens, they are always going to be our children. No matter how old they get, you are still going to worry about them. But sometimes you have just got to let them do what they think they need to do. Jamie allowed me to have a word with him but the moment Ben started boasting, then I allowed him to take over."

"Maybe I preferred it when you two weren't getting on."

"Tough, we are now." He sighed before he walked over to her. "Give us this Rach. And, just think, in just over a month, you are back to work and these things become your problem again."

"Maybe some of them will still be your problem." She said, giving him a small smile.

"Is that so, Miss Mason?"

"You don't get out of things that easily, Mr Lawson."

"Just as long as you do the paperwork."

"Is that how we are then? I do the paperwork, you sort out everything else?"

There was a part of Eddie that wanted to pull her towards him and into his arms. He wanted that intimacy with her again. He wanted to hold her, to love her. It was killing him that he could feel her pulling away from him again. He thought he might have proven himself. He thought that she was understanding. Maybe if they got that chat instead of Melissa gatecrashing then he was sure that things would be a little different.

"I just do as I am told," Eddie said. "I'm your deputy. I am at your service."

He took a step back as he noticed her looking a little uncomfortable. Part of him wondered whether it was him, taking things too far too soon. Part of him wondered whether what happened to Amelia had unlocked too many memories. Part of him wondered whether she wasn't as okay as she was making out.

"You've both got away with it this time. You won't again." Rachel said before she left the kitchen.

Eddie huffed before he walked over to the sink to lean against it and look out the window, seeing his own reflection staring back at him. They had gotten away with it but it only seemed like a small problem in comparison to their own personal problems. And Eddie just wished that Rachel would talk to him.