It was about midnight. Charlie lay on his back on the couch, with his arm draped over his eyes, blocking out what little light was coming from the lamp on the small table beside the couch. For little else than to test out the silence in the room, he let out a heavy sigh. All evening he had been desperately thinking of a plan. Holly had stayed up in her room from the moment she had got in from school. She didn't even want to come down for dinner. They had saved her some though, and Stella had taken it up to her afterwards. Stella had stayed upstairs with her for at least an hour and a half, no doubt talking, but he had seen her plate when Stella had carried it back down into the kitchen, and Holly had barely touched the Spaghetti, which was usually her favourite meal. Alex had tried to help him think of a plan as well, but it hadn't gotten them anywhere, and eventually, he had disappeared to his own room to do his homework.

Why now? He wondered. He and Stella had finally moved on from what Steve had done to them by breaking in, and he was glad to see the back of him. Finally, things were looking up for them. Their children were growing up, and they loved them with all their hearts. They had beaten their awful childhoods and came together to make their own family, which was filled with all the love that they had wanted when they were growing up. They had got justice for what Steve did to John Bridger, and they had got the gold, even though that was the least important of what they had accomplished. He just wanted his children to be able to grow up in complete opposite to how he did; he didn't want them to be looking over their shoulders to make sure that they weren't being watched. He didn't want his children to feel that they only had each other to get through life. He was greatful that they were so close, as he knew loads of siblings that yelled and argued with one another, but they weren't on their own, they had him, and Stella, and all of the others. But now, when he had just thought that life was perfect, Steve, as usual, came along and spoiled it.

Does he enjoy ruining my life? Charlie thought grimly to himself. Does he enjoy watching me suffer? He wanted to protect his family. He wanted to take away his wife's fear that their children were going to be taken and that she would be killed. He wanted to take away the responsibility that his had taken on now that he thought that his sister was in danger. He wanted to take away the darkness that was the fear which clouded his daughter's normally glitteringly happy eyes; but he couldn't. Every time he thought that something was working, it wasn't.

I have to get them out of here, he realised. He could take them to his sisters, but they had families, children, of their own; but by taking Stella and the kids there he would place the others in danger. Was it worth the risk to put his whole family before Steve on a platter? No, he thought, there has to be somewhere else. Someone, somewhere...

"Charlie?"

A soft whisper brought him back to the living room, and he opened his eyes, not realising that he had closed them. His arm which had previously been over his face was now lying limply over his chest, and beside it was a slender hand that nudged him slightly. He hadn't realised he had fallen asleep, he didn't even know he was tired. He looked up at the owner of the hand, and saw Stella looking over him, a concerned look on her face that reminded him of a guardian angel.

"Hey." He said to her, taking her hand in his and bringing it up to his lips.

"Charlie, what are you doing down here?" She asked him. He could hear every bit of worry in her voice. "You've been fast asleep for hours." She informed.

He looked to his side, and saw the clock on the wall. 3.30am, he had been asleep for ages. "I didn't realise I was so tired." He explained.

"I'm not suprised." She said lightly, but her light comment was brushed off without her usual smile which he usual saw over her face with that tone of voice. "You haven't slept properly for days." She said, although he didn't need telling. "I'm worried about you Charlie."

He shrugged a little. He would have forced himself into sleep if he knew that he was worrying Stella through it. "Don't worry about me." He told her. "We have more important things to worry about." He reminded her.

She gave him that look that she always gave him when she was about to point something out to him that proved he was wrong. "The other night you told me that no matter what goes on with the kids, you want to know whats worrying me as well." She told him, taking him back to that night when she had cried herself to sleep. "I'm worried about you, Charlie." She repeated. "Trust me, I notice when you don't sleep. I hear you tossing and turning, pacing the halls, the bedroom, all the same as you notice me."

He sighed again. "Sorry," He apologized, "I just..." He trailed off. He just what? He was silent for a few moments, and after finding himself unable to look Stella in the eye, he looked at the floor to his side. We've been married for eighteen years, and I can't even look her in the eye and tell her I'm lost. "I just don't know what to do." He admitted in such a soft whisper, if she hadn't seen his lips move, she wouldn't have known he said it.

"Oh, Charlie." She said with a sigh, placing her hand on the side of his face and bringing his gaze back to hers. She leaned down and kissed him, before pulling back and looking at him again. "I know you'll think of something." She said, and her faith in him only made him feel worse for not having a plan.

"What if I can't?" He asked out loud. "What if Steve's won this time?"

"Don't talk that way." Stella told him, her voice calm and soothing. "We need to stay positive, remember? We're going to get through this."

"I've got to get you out of here, Stella." He said desperately. "I've got to take you all away, somewhere safe. But Hannah and Laura, they've got their own families as well. I can't put the rest of my family in danger, having you three is bad enough." He said, letting all his doubts out now that he had a chance too. "We can't take the risk of going to theirs, it will complicate everything."

"Charlie, we'll find somewhere else, anywhere else, and the kids will be safe." She said, keeping her hand on the side of his face. Their roles had definately been reversed since the other night; now it was him that needed comforting. "If it comes to it, we'll have to think wider, take them somewhere and come back to finish with Steve." She said, although hating the idea of leaving the children somewhere with the small hope that they would be safe without them.

"On their own? We can't do that." Charlie said, confirming what was written in her eyes when she had said it.

"There has to be somewhere." She said, hiding the desperation she felt when she said that.

"If we keep running, he'll keep chasing." He told her, confirming the news that she had been denying all this time. "Me and the guys can take him, once and for all, but I can't do it if I'm not one hundred percent sure that my wife and kids are safe." He said. He took both her hands in his, and held them tightly between his. "I've dealt with a lot of loss in the past, but you, Alex and Holly are three things that I could never deal with losing. I need you all, and I couldn't bear to lose any of you." From where his hands were resting around Stella's he traced his thumb over her wedding ring.

Stella gave him a reassuring smile. "I love you, Charlie." She told him. "And I'm not going anywhere. We're a family. Me, you, our wonderful kids. We can do this. Together, we're stronger than Steve will ever be, but we have to stay strong, and keep on thinking." She closed her eyes, and Charlie brought up his hand to put his hand between her cheekbone and her loosely hanging hair. "Besides," She started slowly. "We have one bit of hope still."

"What's that?" Charlie asked, as she opened her eyes to look down on him again.

"Steve thinks that we've only got two kids."

The confirmation of Stella's pregnancy did bring Charlie the hope that he needed so badly. It had worried them when Alex and Holly's reaction would be to a new baby, seeing as they were older, now, than Alex had been when Holly was born, but both of them were as excited as the parents. Holly was ecstatic, convinced that she was going to have a sister, and Alex, likewise, convinced the baby was going to be a boy.

"It's the order," He had stated. "Boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl."

"Woah," Charlie had intervened at this point. "How many do you think we're having?" He asked rhetorically. "Fifteen?"

"I hope not!" Stella pointed out. "Labour with one is painful enough. I must be crazy to do it again."

Charlie knew though, that as soon as she had her child in her arms, it wouldn't have mattered to her whether it took minutes or weeks to deliver them. She was a sucker for children, they both were, but they were worried about the dangers involved after leaving it so long after Holly's birth for her to be expecting again.

"You love it really." Charlie reminded her.

"I love the result, not the labour." She assured him. "It's worth it though." She said, trailing off a little and smiling to herself, turning back to the bacon she was cooking.

"That doesn't mean you can eat those disgusting sandwiches infront of me, though." Alex told her.

She laughed, and Charlie smiled at seeing all three of them happy, even if it was only for the moment. "If I do that then you can make your own breakfast." She countered.

Alex thought this over for a moment, and then shook his head. "Just don't wave it under my nose." He surrendered, before standing up. "I'll be back in a minute." He said, heading out of the kitchen.

"What about your breakfast?" Charlie called to him, but he didn't get an answer as Alex was already down the hall and halfway up the stairs when he asked him. Picking up his coffee, he noticed a cheeky expression on Holly's face. "Dare I ask what you're up to?" He said, matching her smile.

"Alex isn't the only one who can find out anything, you know?" She said, not letting on what, exactly, she knew.

"What?" Charlie asked, slightly confused.

"He's up to something." She said, hinting a little.

"He is?" He asked, not having noticed anything mischevious going on recently.

"Oh yeah." Holly said.

"Does it have anything to do with his new leaf?" Stella asked, putting the bacon onto plates and sitting down beside her daughter with a glass of water.

"New leaf?" Charlie enquired becoming more confused by the second.

"I think someone needs a little father-son talk soon." Stella said, looking directly at Charlie.

"Yeah, me probably." Charlie said under his breath, remembering the disasterous father-son talk he and Alex had shared five years ago. "What are you two talking about?" He hated it when the 'woman's intuition' kicked in and he didn't understand a word they were talking about.

"Alex." They both said.

"I know that. But what about Alex."

"Charlie, he's started to look smarter going to school." Stella told him.

"And he keeps going to the bathroom to look in the mirrors to check his hair at breaks." Holly added. "Oh yeah, he's hooked alright."

"Hooked?"

"Alex has a crush." They both said together, clearing up all the confusion that Charlie had been emitting for the past two minutes. Then, seeing Charlie's equally curious look, Holly began to fill them in on the infamous Amy Allen.