A/N: Well I'm bored, so I decided to update again. It's a little short but I'm sure you'll find it in your heart to forgive me. Thankyou to my wonderful reviewers!

Leon's long fingers poked through the tool box on the driveway searching for a washer. He had a cigarette hanging from his lips and his hair was hanging in his eyes. Bringing his hand up he brushed the strands back, damp with sweat and made an irritated noise in his throat.

"Where the fuck-" he stopped, looking back toward the house. He could hear yelling – women yelling. "Jesus Christ. What the fuck is going on in there?" he asked himself, standing. He took one last drag off the cigarette then tossed the butt aside, crunching it beneath his boot quickly before starting up the side footpath toward the back of the house. Even as he stepped up onto the deck he could still hear the girls yelling at each other – to his surprise one of the voices he could hear was Ruby.

"- ever again and I'll break your fucking neck!"

He blinked, stunned. Ruby never spoke like that. She rarely swore at all and got angry even less. She loved life too much to be unhappy. Stepping up to the back door, Leon slid the security door open and stepped halfway inside, just leaning in.

"What is going on in here?" he asked, seeing a pink faced Ruby standing rigidly with her fists clenched at her sides.

Marissa was standing by the table holding her cheek, little droplets of blood swelling beneath her finger tips. Tears rolled down her face and she was glaring at Ruby.

He then turned and saw Cade curling himself into Bethany's chest, his quiet cries audible even from where he was standing at the door. He quirked a brow and walked over, his big hand stroking Cade's dark silky hair.

"That psycho bitch attacked me!"

Leon turned at Marissa's angry shout. "Don't swear like that in front of my son." He told her firmly, unaffected by the wounded look she gave him. He was beyond caring if he hurt that girl's feelings. "Now someone tell me what the hell is going on."

Marissa huffed. "So you can swear in front of him and I can't!"

"Oh shut up you whiney little tramp." Ruby snapped meanly, still furious. Leon looked from one girl to the other and moved to Ruby's side. His hand came up to her head and righted the off kilter flower chain on her crown. Her anger seemed to deflate slightly and she gave him a tight smile.

"What happened Rubes?"

"That bitch hit me!" Marissa exclaimed again.

"Watch your fucking mouth!" He roared at her, "I didn't ask you, so shut the hell up!" He looked at Ruby again. "Ruby?"

The red head was still glaring at Marissa. "She was trying to get Cade to give her a hug, but he didn't want to so she grabbed him!" Ruby's cheeks flushed even more, "He said no, but she still grabbed him. So Yes, I fucking hit her!"

Leon's face turned eerily blank at this piece of information and he turned to look at Cade.

"Did she hurt you?"

The little boy didn't even lift his head from Bethany's chest, scared. Bethany nodded slightly and pointed to his arm where there was a red mark blemishing his caramel skin.

Leon's vision turned as red as Ruby's hair. "He said no," he turned to Marissa, "-and you touched him anyway?" His voice was deathly calm as he took a slow step toward the now nervous looking girl.

"He didn't say no!" she stammered, "She's lying!"

The thought of her accusing Ruby of lying to him angered him further. Ruby was one of the most genuine, honest people he'd ever met.

"You grabbed my son." He snarled, closing in on her. Marissa back peddled, tripping on a nearby chair as he advanced on her.

Leon couldn't believe it. He hadn't been there to stop the same thing happening to Vince growing up and now he'd failed his own son. He was a letdown as a brother and as a father. Anger bubbled in his veins as she insisted it was all a lie.

"If it's a lie then why the hell does he have a mark on his arm?" he asked her all too nicely. His steps were slow but sure, backing her into the corner.

The group of girls in the room were all tensed nervously. They could tell Marissa had overstepped the line Leon had lain down when it came to his boy. He was fairly easy to live with most of the time, keeping mostly to himself, but when it came to Cade he was downright protective. Bordering on frighteningly so sometimes.

Ruby could tell Leon was furious. His shoulders had tightened beyond anything she'd ever seen before and his spine was rigid, painfully straight. Leon was an emotionally driven man and the mask he wore right at that moment scared the hell out of her. It was pure nothingness. She knew without a doubt that he was going to hit the teenaged girl in front of him if he wasn't stopped. The last thing he needed was an assault charge on his record – he could lose Cade.

She darted forward just in time to see his fist clench and start to raise, throwing herself in front of him and wrapping herself around his waist. She pushed her cheek against his chest as she vainly struggled to push him backward.

"Leon – STOP!"

He struggled against her, pushing back toward the cowering girl in the corner. "She touched my boy!" He shouted, trying to get her off him.

Ruby squeezed her eyes shut when his fingers wrapped around her upper arms, digging in as he tried to loosen her grip on his waist.

"Leon, stop!" She could feel him moving her backward. "Leon - YOU'RE HURTING ME!"

He stopped struggling as much though she could feel the tension in his body. He was shaking with rage. His fingers loosened on her arms, instead just resting there.

Ruby looked up and saw his face was still blank as blank, then peered past his side at Bethany. Cade's head was still buried in her chest. He'd seen none of the scene thankfully.

"Come on, Le – let's go. Let's get you out of here."

He grunted, still watching the terrified girl in the corner. "You come near my boy again and I'm going to kill you." He growled out, his voice full of promise.

The girl squeaked, terrified and scrambled over to her friends – none of which looked entirely sympathetic.

Bethany rocked Cade gently, the frightened little boy clinging to her for grim life. He was almost white knuckled.

"Le, why don't you go and calm down," she looked at her 'friends', "-they were all just leaving anyway so I can take care of Cade if you like."

He glared at the girls on the other side of the room, his hand unconsciously tightening on Ruby's arm again.

She winced and tried to pull her arm free to no avail. Her face so close to his chest there was only one thing she could think of doing. She leaned forward and closed her teeth around his nipple and bit down. Hard.

Leon jerked, tearing backward. "What the fuck, woman!"

She glared at him, outwardly unaffected by his anger. Inside she was quailing. He scared the hell out of her when he was angry.

"You were hurting me, Leon! That's all that would get your attention!"

He glowered at her, his eyes shining with pent up emotion. Ruby could tell just by looking at him that he was close to having another breakdown like on the beach and she stepped forward.

"Come on, Le. Bethany said she'd watch Cade while you calmed down. We can go back to my place for a while."

His expression, though still filled with fury and hatred, turned thoughtful and he turned to Bethany.

"You'll watch him?" He asked gruffly, "Put something on his arm?"

She nodded. "Go with Ruby, Leon. I've got him."

Leon walked stiffly over to her and bent, kissing Cade's cheek. He whispered an 'I love you' against his ear then turned on his heel and stormed out the back door.

Ruby shook her head at Marissa, still trembling. "You're so fucking lucky he didn't get his hands on you."

Marissa scowled at the older girl. "Go to hell you fucking whore!"

Ruby found herself in front of her and had punched her in the face before she even knew what she was doing. She glared at the girl, now sitting on the floor holding her bloody nose.

"Now how's that for gratitude?"