Montague

Prompted by 'Guest' and set around episode 6853, this one-shot focuses on Chris' fight with Danni's evil ex-boyfriend, Stephen.

Chris hadn't been so annoyed with himself in ages, probably since he kept his relationship with Aidan a secret from his parents two years earlier. He raced to number 24, inwardly kicking himself for telling Stephen that Danni was at home: if he had realised that the guy was his boss' abusive ex-boyfriend then he would have sent him on a wild goose chase or something to get him out of Erinsborough. Now he had put Danni's life in danger, and possibly his and Mark's as well, and he had to do whatever it took to stop Stephen from hurting anyone.

Christ burst through the front door but was met with an empty living room. He wasn't sure whether he was irritated or relieved, but checked around the room and down the hallway, calling out to Danni. Not receiving any response, Chris called Mark to let him know that Danni was nowhere to be seen. However, just as he turned around, he was shocked to find Stephen standing only a few metres away wielding a vase. Chris' immediate instinct was to grab the vase, which took a great amount of effort to wrestle against Stephen for. After a struggle, Chris managed to release the vase from Stephen's grasp and it fell to the floor, smashing to pieces. Chris took the opportunity to punch Stephen in the chest, winding him slightly. However, Stephen retaliated by kneeing Chris in the ribs, which sent a searing pain through Chris' body. It was more painful than it should have been and Chris struggled to get his breath back, which Stephen took advantage of by grabbing him in a head-lock. The pain was increasing due to the terror that Chris felt, so he did the first thing he could think of to get out of it by kicking his leg backwards into Stephen's groin. Stephen's grip loosened on him as he fell down, and Chris grabbed the other man's right arm before twisting it behind his back to hold him in place.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Chris hissed at the man writhing under his hold

"You know exactly what I'm doing here" Stephen retorted

"You're not gonna get Danni back, you know" Chris breathed

"Well you're the one who led me here, remember?" Stephen pointed out, reminding Chris about earlier at Charlie's when he had told him that Danni would be at home, "And you lied to me, didn't you?" he growled

"Well I wish I'd told you she'd left town" Chris replied, "I didn't know you were Stephen Montague, and if I had then I would have stopped you-"

"It's too late now, isn't it?" Stephen laughed, "And it's tragic that you know my name even though we've never properly met before"

Chris exhaled heavily, the pain increasing even more as he held Stephen down, "You've got a bad reputation around here"

"Is that right, Chris Pappas?" he teased

Chris accidentally loosened his grip in surprise, "Wait, how did you know-?"

Stephen jumped out of Chris' hold and copied what Chris had done to him before by holding an arm behind his back, "The main thing I've learnt about being in Erinsborough is that everyone knows everyone. You can thank that flicky-haired girl at the bar for telling me about you"

Chris realised that Stephen was referring to Naomi and was scared of what he might do to her if he managed to track her down. Chris cried out in pain and Stephen laughed before pushing him to the floor roughly.

"Look at you!" he cried, "For a second you had me thinking you were strong and tough, but you're just weak and pathetic, aren't you?"

Chris glanced up at him in fear and Stephen shook his head, "You know what, mate? You're not worth the hassle" he spat

Stephen delivered one last kick to the injured mechanic before fleeing the house through the back door. Chris groaned in pain and attempted to stand up, but could barely move.

The front door flew open as Mark, Danni and Sonya rushed in, "Mate, what happened?" Mark exclaimed as he spotted Chris on the floor

"S… Stephen" Chris wheezed and weakly pointed in the direction that Stephen had fled

Mark sprinted after him and Danni covered her mouth in shock, "He was here?"

Chris nodded before both Danni and Sonya put their arms around him to lift him up. The sudden movement caused more pain and Chris groaned.

"What did he do to you?" Danni asked worriedly

Chris shook his head, "He kneed me in the ribs" he panted

"He might have broken some of them" Sonya suggested as she realised how much pain he was in

Chris looked horrified as he realised that he was feeling the same pain that he had felt after he was attacked in 2011, which had left him with a broken rib that later punctured his lung and almost costed him his life.

Rather than panic the women, Chris smiled reassuringly at them, "I'll be fine" he breathed before limping over to the sofa where he gingerly lowered himself down onto the cushions.

"I'll get you some painkillers" Danni suggested before rushing over to the kitchen cupboards

Sonya watched Chris suspiciously, wondering if they should take him to the Hospital considering the pain that he was in from possibly breaking several ribs.

Once Mark had returned from failing to catch Stephen, he and the two women discussed what they needed to do next. Because Stephen would be difficult to find and get rid of, they decided it might be easier for Danni to leave. Fortunately, Danni was able to find a temporary place to stay but wondered how many lives she had put in danger by being in Erinsborough in the first place.

xxx

Chris had tried to pay attention to their conversation but the pain in his chest had become unbearable. The painkillers hadn't kicked in yet and Chris reached over to grab his glass of water from the table. After taking a sip, he started coughing uncomfortably, then took another sip to supress them. However, it only succeeded in making the coughs more violent. Chris continued to cough as he placed the glass back onto the table. Mark was about to scold him for not placing it back on the coaster, but noticed Chris coughing up blood into his hands.

Mark jumped up, "Woah, are you ok?" he asked as he grabbed some tissues for Chris

Chris nodded as he coughed into the tissues and Mark rubbed his back, "Try not to cough if you can" he instructed him

Sonya stood up, "We need to get him to the Hospital"

Chris shook his head fervently and Sonya looked worried, "Chris, this Stephen guy obviously did some real damage to you"

Danni nodded guiltily, "Yeah, you need to get yourself checked out, it could be serious" she warned him before retrieving her phone, "I'll call for an ambulance"

Mark nodded as he grabbed his own mobile, "I'll call Karl" he muttered, then noticed Danni's confused expression and elaborated, "He'll get here quicker and can help out"

Chris shook his head again helplessly and Sonya knelt down in front of him in concern whilst Mark and Danni busied themselves on their phones, "Why don't you want help?" she asked softly

Chris could barely speak in the midst of the pain and coughing but managed to wheeze, "Stephen… my fault… he's… here"

Sonya grabbed his wrist, "It's not your fault, it's no-one's fault" she assured him softly, "And you didn't deserve what he did to you". Noting Chris' doubtful expression she continued, "The last time you were beaten up like this, you broke a rib that punctured your lung and nearly killed you. Don't take a risk like that again"

Chris held her gaze for a few moments before nodding. Sonya stayed by his side whilst Karl arrived and examined him, rubbing his back comfortingly and reminding him to breathe slowly. Everything was a blur for Chris - from paramedics arriving to being taken to the Hospital in an ambulance - apart from the severe pain through his body and the fear of what Stephen was capable of if nobody stopped him.

xxx

Waking up in a Hospital bed feeling drowsy reminded Chris of his brush with death a couple of years earlier following his surgery. He was still in pain, although it was nowhere near as excruciating as it had been back at number 24. He silently hoped that the painkillers they put him on weren't as strong as they usually were. Chris had found out about his previous experiences with painkillers thanks to Andrew and Summer, who filled him in on all of his ramblings whilst he was high on pain relief. Though, he had been pleased when Aidan had confided in him once they were together that Chris on painkillers was the funniest and most adorable thing he had ever seen whilst on duty, and it was when he had started to develop feelings for him (though they were mainly feelings of endearment). Chris smiled to himself at the memory, though the grin was removed from his face and replaced by a look of apprehension as Karl entered. Fortunately, Karl assured Chris that the surgery had been successful, although he would have to stay in Hospital for the next few days so that his recovery could be monitored. Chris thanked Karl, but his relief turned to worry as thoughts of Stephen and Danni entered his mind.

Once Karl had confirmed to Sonya and Mark that Chris was allowed to have visitors, they practically sprinted into Chris' room to see him. Chris sat up in his bed as he saw them, but the sudden movement caused him more pain.

"Careful, mate" Mark exclaimed

Chris shook his head, "I'm ok" he panted, "What happened to Danni?"

"She's on her way to Adelaide" Sonya told him, "She'll be safe there, hopefully"

Chris nodded, "What about Montague?"

Mark shrugged, "He's still on the loose, but I'm sure we can get rid of him for good soon enough" he replied grimly

"'We'?" Chris questioned

"The police" Mark explained

"But you're not in the police force anymore" Sonya pointed out

"Once a cop, always a cop" Chris murmured

"And this is way too serious to leave to the cops, especially if I can do something about it" Mark continued, "As long as he's still around, we're all in danger"

Chris had stopped feeling relieved even before Mark had said those words, but after that he was terrified. Now he had to be on the lookout all of the time, even here in the Hospital bed anything could happen to him. As much as he didn't want Mark to get overly involved in the case, Chris hoped that Stephen Montague would be caught, arrested and locked away for good so that they wouldn't have to look over their shoulders or be frightened anymore.

Thanks for reading! And thanks to 'Guest' for the prompt: I hope this was somewhat close to what you were hoping for. I wasn't really a fan of the Montague storyline, but getting to write it from a different perspective was actually quite interesting. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas for one-shots, then please let me know. In the meantime, reviews are always welcome!