Family Dilemma

Requested by 'aphass', this one-shot is set in early November (just after the climax of the coward-punch storyline) and covers Chris telling Nate about his family, as well as Nate meeting Chris' dad.

Chris sighed as he hung up the phone. Nate entered from the kitchen, carrying a couple of mugs of tea. Noticing Chris' worried expression, Nate was confused.

"Was that your mum?" he asked as he handed Chris a mug, remembering that Chris had been anxious about his mum since her outburst after the court hearing.

Chris shook his head, "No, it was my dad actually" he replied as he took the mug from Nate, "He's back from Greece and mum filled him in on everything that's been going on. Obviously he got the more biased version of events"

"What did he say about it?"

"Not much, though that's hardly surprising since my dad's never really had a way with words" Chris grumbled, "He just said that we need to have a family meeting as soon as possible so that we can talk this through all together"

"And why is that such a bad thing?" Nate asked before taking a sip of his drink

Chris hesitated, "Dad and I have never really seen eye-to-eye, especially after I came out" he explained, "It started improving recently, but I'm worried that he'll take my mum's side against me in this and it'll push us further apart, and they'll make me feel like I'm in the wrong"

Nate shrugged, "Well you know that you did the right thing" he pointed out, "Remember the reaction that Toadie got when he was representing Josh? Not everyone is going to be happy about everything, but at the end of the day we just have to accept it and move on"

Chris smiled slightly, "Yeah, you're right" he sniggered, then frowned, "But try telling my parents that"

"I can if you want" Nate responded

Chris raised his eyebrows, "I was kind of joking, but actually that's a good idea"

xxx

Nate's head turned from side to side almost comically as he watched the conflict unfold between Chris and his parents. He wouldn't admit it but he was slightly amused by the situation: he now realised where a lot of Chris' traits came from, just in the first few moments of watching them all together.

He could tell by George's firm handshake and his polite but short 'good to meet you' that he was extremely focused on the tough situation, but he seemed friendly enough.

Similarly to her reaction after the court hearing, Patricia was still upset about the result, "Your father agrees that you shouldn't have let Josh get away with it"

"How many times do I have to tell you that he didn't 'get away with it'?" he questioned, "He got community service and a suspended sentence"

George sighed, "But that's not enough for almost taking your life" he argued, "You ended up with a brain injury, you can barely move your right hand and your job's in jeopardy, talk about 'disproportionate punishment'"

"But I consider myself pretty lucky" Chris began, "Not only do some victims not survive, but a lot of the time the perpetrators aren't remorseful at all, and actually get off on the power"

"That still doesn't justify why you changed your statement so that he didn't get sent to prison" Patricia cried

"Because I forgive him" Chris admitted, "We talked about it afterwards and I explained that I knew that it was an accident and that he didn't deserve to go to prison on top of the guilt that he was feeling"

"But guilt doesn't make up for what he did to you" George argued

"But he's made up for it" Chris maintained, "He delivered food parcels to my door, he took care of the garage in an attempt to save my job and he got injured doing it, and he sold loads of his possessions so that he could set up a bank account for me to use"

George and Patricia shared an awkward glance, realising that Josh had gone above and beyond to help him.

"Looking back, I feel guilty that I rejected him doing that" Chris continued, "I thought he was just trying to make himself feel better, but it was his way of apologising and trying to help me recover. Does that sound like some kind of thug or criminal to you?"

Patricia and George shook their heads reluctantly, whilst Nate smiled reassuringly at Chris.

Nate leant forwards, "Look, the main thing to take from this is that everyone has a second chance here" he began, "Unfortunately we can't go back in time, but it's over now so we just have to move on"

"Is it really 'over' though?" George asked, "Chris has still got his injuries, and he and Josh live in the same street so they have to see each other all the time"

Nate considered this, "There's still a long road ahead, yeah, and it's going to be difficult" he agreed, "But that's exactly why you guys all need to be on the same page, so that you can support each other"

Patricia and George exchanged a small smile and Chris squeezed Nate's hand gratefully.

xxx

Chris and Nate headed over to the bar to order the next round of drinks. Chris let out a deep breath as they were waiting and smiled gratefully at Nate.

"Thank you" he murmured

Nate raised an eyebrow, "What for? You did most of the hard work"

"Yeah, but you're the one who got them on side" Chris argued, "And just having you here with me is great"

Nate shrugged, "Well you know I'd do anything for you, right?" he clarified, "I love you"

Chris felt his heart skip a beat like it did the first time Nate had said that and he smiled at him tenderly, "I love you too"

George approached them and overheard their conversation as well as witnessing Chris kissing Nate gently.

He was taken aback by what he had heard, "'Love'?" he questioned

Chris and Nate broke away awkwardly and Chris cleared his throat, "Yeah" he replied with assurance

"Do you even know what that is?" George asked offhandedly

Chris looked outraged, "What's that supposed to mean? That just because we're both guys we don't know what love is? Or that it's not love if it's between two people of the same sex, is that what you're implying?"

George shook his head, "Of course not, I-"

"Do you even know what it is?" Chris interrupted, still fuming, "Because if you did then you wouldn't have almost walked out on your family when we needed you the most, you wouldn't have made it ten times harder for me to come out than it already was, and you wouldn't have made me feel like a complete failure my entire life! So you have no right to lecture me about 'love'"

There was a lingering pause as George and Patricia looked ashamed before Chris scoffed, "Come on Nate" he commanded as he took Nate's hand and led him out of The Waterhole. Patricia shook her head in mortification at her husband, who let out a deep breath.

xxx

Nate stopped Chris as he stormed through the complex, "Don't you think you were a bit harsh back there?"

Chris spun around to face him, aghast, "'A bit harsh'?" he repeated incredulously, "Didn't you hear what he said?"

Nate nodded, "You heard what he said, but not what he meant"

Chris looked confused, "What are you talking about?"

Nate paused, "He didn't mean it in the way that you think he did"

"How did he mean it then?" Chris argued

"Maybe you could ask him" Nate suggested as he pointed over to The Waterhole where George was rushing out towards them, "You should hear him out"

Chris glared at him, then took a deep breath as he realised that his boyfriend had a point.

George stopped several feet away from his son, "Look, I'm sorry for what I said in there" he apologised hastily, "I didn't mean for it to sound so, you know…"

"Homophobic?" Chris interjected

George nodded, "I was just worried about you"

Chris pulled a face, "Worried about me being in love?"

George shook his head, "This whole thing is so overwhelming" he began, "You know, we almost lost you several weeks ago, then we find out that you're in a committed relationship with a guy that I've only just met, and I overhear you saying that you love each other; it's just a lot to take in"

Chris considered this but was still puzzled, "So you think that we don't know what love is because…?" he prompted

"This is all happening so quickly" George explained, "And you two have only been together a few months"

"But after everything we've been through, it just proves our feelings even more" Nate argued

George nodded, "I know, and I'm sorry for doubting you" he apologised, "Based on what I've seen and heard, I know that you two are good together. And if you're happy together then I'm happy for you, and I mean that"

Chris gazed at George for a moment, a small smile creeping onto his face, "Thanks dad" he finally replied, before hugging him tightly. Nate watched this happily, pleased to have helped their crisis in some way.

Thanks for reading, and thanks 'aphass' for the request: I hope this was close to what you were hoping for and that you (and everyone else) enjoyed it. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas for Chris related stories then feel free to let me know, and reviews are always welcome!