AN/ Ok, New chap. This one really means a lot to me. I hope you guys don't mind that I have decided to take this storyline in a darker direction, but not everything is perfect in real life which I'm sure you all know. Please Review.

Thankyou to: Kangome, SnitchWitch, elephantsrocmysox, Midnight-Pixie, Princess Nayness and oiwthepoodlesalr for your reviews of the last chapter.

Elephantsrocmysox-Seth being Al's son and Carmen's brother? -never even crossed my mind, would be a good plotline though ;) What a drama that would be for poor Carmen.

Lena sat on the front steps of Paul's house, waiting for him to come back. It was getting dark now and she was worried. She wished she could just walk up to Seth and ask him what this was all about, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to do it. He knew what was going on, and didn't seem the slightest bit worried-Lena decided she should take her que from him.

She tired, butthe curiosity scratched at her from the inside. She already knew Seth had lied to them once, well maybe not lied, but more mislead them. She thought back to earlier when Krista had asked Seth if he had come to visit his father. Lena had instantly remembered asking Seth if he had any family in South Carolina, Seth had looked uncomfortable and had replied that Paul was his only family here. This turned out to be untrue, well so she assume from Krista's question. Seth had just shaken his head in response to Krista's question about his dad, and hadn't explained himself at all, Seth was turning out to be the most mysterious, if not frustrating guy Lena had ever met.

Shortly after this revelation Lydia and Al had arrived home, both very surprised to find Seth in their lounge room, being harassed by Krista's loving looks. Lydia had smiled warmly at him and given him a hug before asking about Rachel, to which he had replied that she 'would be disappointed not to be here' which didn't really tell anyone about how this 'Rachel' actually was. Lena mentally begged someone to ask a more direct question, but nobody did.

Lydia introduced Seth to Al, as Seth Coleman, and Lena saw a look of recognition at the name pass Al'shis face, followed by a hint of pity, which Lena wondered about. What did everyone know about this guy that she didn't?

A short time later Paul pulled up. He walked up to Lena, hands in his pocket-head down. He stopped in front of her and said nothing for awhile, Lena didn't know if he was waiting for her to talk or not, so she said nothing. Finally Paul spoke.

'I'm sorry about before. Do you want to go for a walk? I need to talk to someone'

Lena nodded and stood up. To her surprise, and pleasure, he took her hand. They walked down the street, it was a warm night but there was a cool breeze, her hand felt so comfortable and warm in Paul's.

'I was worried…' Lena trailed off

'It's not me anyone needs to be worried about' said Paul

'Paul, what's going on? This has to be the most confusing day of my life' actually second, she corrected herself silently. The most confusing day of her life had also been the worst. The day she found out about Kostos'…family. It hurt her still to think of that day and pushed it from her mind'

'Well..Seth. He's a complicated guy. He always was, even when we were kids he always seemed to make things difficult for himself.'

Lena just nodded, indicating for him to continue

'I always had his back you know, and he had mine. We had so much in common, our fathers were both…well they were similar. Before my parents divorced we would have family outings Mum, Dad, Krista and I would meet up with Seth, his parents and sister and we'd feel like a normal family, those were my best memories of my father.'

Paul smiled at the memory and was silent for a moment, Lena squeezed his hand gently in encouragement.

'Seth and I spent every spare moment together when we were young, we were the best of friends, inseparable. Our family lives were so similar that we never had to explain anything to each other, we just understood. But then…Seth's mother…she killed herself. Overdosed on sleeping pills. He found her.' Paul swallowed hard.

Lena imagined finding her mum dead, and could think of nothing worse. The pain of Kostos would be nothing compared to that kind of loss. Paul continued.

'After that everything changed. My friendship with Seth was the only thing constant in his life. His father started beating him, and emotionally abusing Rachel. Mr Coleman just lost it, it was like once his wife was gone life had no meaning. He blamed himself for her death, which I'm not sure he was wrong to do. But after the day she..died, I don't think I ever saw him sober again.'

Lena knew this story was only going to get worse, and she was terrified to find that she was on the verge of crying. She fought against it as hard as she could, knowing she had to stay brave for Paul. She thought of Seth back at the house, he had known more pain that she ever had, and probably ever would. It was remarkable that he was still standing, when Lena had barely survived a broken heart. She sensed that Seth had been broken in many more ways.

Paul sighed and looked down at her. Lena managed a sad smile, eyes glistening. Paul bit down hard on his lip.

'Lena, Seth's Dad..he..he killed someone. He's in prison, not far from here, and has been since Seth was fifteen. He wont be released until Seth is fifty-one, if either of them survive that long…' Paul stopped and Lena could feel him tensing up, trying not to break down.

She stopped walking and embraced him. She felt his whole body shaking, his head rested on top of hers and a wet tear landed on her shoulder. 'Shit' he whispered, shaking his head.

'What is it about you that makes me want to tell you everything I'm thinking, and feeling. You're the only person I can be with, and really be me, Lena.'

Lena smiled into his shirt. Paul had rescued her from oblivion, before him she had been sinking into despair over Kostos, and if he hadn't come along Lena didn't know what might have happened. She thought of Seth's miserable mother, being lost in the dark for so long that she had seen no release other than to end her life. Could that have been her? Lena told herself she would never had let it get that far, but deep down she didn't know what might have happened if she didn't have Carmen, Tibby, Bridget, and ofcourse Paul.

'Thankyou' was all she said. The single word having a thousand meanings.

Ok I just read over that, and I'm not sure if it's any good or total crap. (Yes, I rhymed)Opinions?