Right so you're probably thinking why is she posting today of all days, does this girl have no life?! The answer is yes, I do have a life and one that I've just discovered is about to get bloody busy as my parents gift was a 2 day trip over to Dublin to see MGMT!! So with that in mind, I thought I'd post this today as I won't get the chance to update till about Sunday now. Remember that as today is my actual birthday, it would make you a right git to leave me a nasty review! :D Try and Enjoy!
"Oh East London…is wonderful…oh East London is wonderful…"
Pete grinned to himself as he moved with the crowds pouring out of the stadium, still clutching his can of Fosters as he fought his way to the front where he could see Bovver cheering louder than anyone, looking more than a little worse for wear as he tipped his beer over his own head.
"Ay, ay, fuckin' 'ell, its Pete Dunham,"
He heard someone shout and the grin on his face widened smugly. Apparently stepping down as the Major hadn't lessened his reputation in any way.
"Bov!" he shouted, grabbing hold of his friends shoulder and leaning on him for support as the mass of half drunken men drifted further down the street.
"Pete," he slurred back. "Mate, are you coming down the Abbey or what?"
"Anchor," Pete laughed. "The Abbey's nothing more than bricks and rubble these days mate,"
"Oh fuck, yeah," Bovver blinked looking genuinely shocked at the revelation. "Well, are you coming out for some birthday beers or not? I'm only asking just in case Allie's got you on the clock or something,"
"Nah," Pete laughed. "I'm up for a session, as long as I don't 'ave to pay,"
"'Course you're not payin'," Benjamin hiccupped, suddenly appearing next to him. "It's your birthday,"
"Alright, so who is payin' then?" he asked.
All eyes turned to Dave who shook his head in disbelief.
"One of these days I'm gonna hit every one of you fuckers with the biggest bill you've ever seen in your life," he opened another can of Fosters and look a long sip. "I'll get Pete's in, the rest of your bastards are on your own,"
"Tight git," Ike laughed, tossing his empty beer can at his head.
"I bet that's what he said to your sister," Ned quipped making Matt spit out his beer as he choked violently on his laughter.
"Oi, fuck off," Dave shouted back, knowing that his brief relationship with Lucy wasn't exactly Ike's favourite topic of discussion.
They crossed the road towards the tube station, lost in unimportant conversation as they neared the upper gates.
Suddenly, they heard a series of shouts coming from up the rapidly darkening road. Squinting through the darkness, Pete could see Ray Forber and about four of his boys throwing themselves into the fray of Arsenal fans, though their bravery didn't pay off too long as Ray was promptly punched in the stomach and then hurled against a wall where three Gooners proceeded to kick the shit out of him.
Pete briefly wondered whether he should make the move to help, but instead picked up his pace when he saw a barrage of police approaching the lads, batons at the ready as they shoved through the crowds.
"Fuck me," he laughed. "Tell me I wasn't that much of a fucking mug on my first meet,"
"You?" Dave laughed. "Mate, you didn't last five seconds, you got your hand broken, remember?"
"Didn't look too good, did it?" Bovver smirked. "The newly instated Major of the GSE crying like a baby coz he hurt his hand,"
"To be fair, I punched a fucking wall," Pete narrowed his eyes, slapping Bovver across the back of the head. "That Zulu prick moved at the last minute and I wrecked my hand for about a month,"
He flexed it as though inspecting the damage that he knew in reality had long since faded.
He remembered the pain as though it was yesterday though. Sneaking up to his room after the fight, barely out of his first year of University, blood dripping onto the carpet as he tip toed past his mother's room and collapsed onto his bed, clumsily wrapping his hand in an old t-shirt before he eventually passed out from the pain.
"I think even the Yank did better than you in his first meet," Dave laughed, winking at Matt who looked a little too proud.
"Piss off," Pete snorted. "Did you not see that little pansy swinging his fists about like a ballerina? 'Ere, Swill, who did we say he looked like?"
"Larry Grayson," Swill called back from where he had paused to light his cigarette.
"Who's Larry Grayson?" Matt frowned, earning a round of laughter from the rest of the boys.
"Don't know why you're laughing, you queer," Bovver smacked Benjamin on the shoulder. "You've never been in a fucking fight,"
"And risk getting this damaged?" the Scotsman gasped, gesturing to his face and body. "Sweetheart, you don't go play pigeon shooting with a Monet,"
Pete pissed himself along with the others, narrowly missing the steep curb on the pavement and latching onto Dave for stability. Just how many beers had he had?
"You're such a tart," Pete shook his head.
"Aye," the Scotsman nodded. "I'm more of an honorary hooligan…think of me as your mascot." He craned his neck and looked evenly at Pete. "If it weren't for me and you, brother, these ugly fuckers wouldn't get the slightest hint of female action,"
Reaching the entrance to the station, Pete glanced back at the fight one last time and shook his head as he watched two police men push Ray to the floor and kneel on his back.
"Silly little prick," Pete mumbled, swiping his oyster card.
"Oh East London…is wonderful…"
He grinned as the lads began singing again, a larger group of men nearby raising their West Ham scarves and joining in as they jogged down to the platform below. Pete glanced down at his wedding ring, the silver band glinting back at him in the fading fluorescent lights of the underground.
So he wasn't the Major anymore, who gave a fuck? He was something better now, he was just Pete Dunham and for the first time in his short life, that was far from being a bad thing.
"I'm forever blowing bubbles…"
Dave sang along with the lads half heartedly but it was proving more difficult than he thought to pretend that nothing had happened last night. He sighed loudly when his phone vibrated in his pocket, the usual ring tone lost to the sea of noise around him.
Seeing that it was Jake, he rolled his eyes and debated whether to hang up or not knowing full well that it was more than likely the little bastard wanting a lift home or having lost his house key for the fifth time that month.
"Jake," he mumbled into the phone. "I'm nowhere near the fuckin Anchor so if you need a lift home, grab a taxi and I'll give you the money back later, yeah?"
Silence greeted him on the phone for a second, until the sound of raspy, pained sounding breathing drifted into his ear and he frowned.
"Jake? Mate, where are you?"
"I fucked up, Dave,"
His brother's voice was shaky and almost unrecognisable as he fought not to sob.
"What?" Dave shook his head. "What are you on about?"
"She started getting sick," Jake stuttered. "She was fucking throwing up everywhere…she kept…she kept saying that it hurt and then, her arm…none of it looked normal, I've never seen it do that before, I told 'er she left the needle in for too long but she wouldn't listen…"
"Jake, what the fuck 'ave you done?" Dave snapped, turning away from the lads so they wouldn't hear him.
"I thought she'd be ok," the younger man sobbed. "I just fucking left her there…oh fuck, what if she's dead?"
Suddenly it hit him and Dave closed his eyes for a second, willing himself back in time a few minutes where he was blissfully unaware of the knowledge he had now.
"Who are you talking about?" he asked slowly, his fist clenching at his side. "Who did you leave on their own?"
"You can't tell mum, Dave," Jake sobbed. "She'll kick me out the house, I swear I haven't sold anything for years but she…she came back and I…"
"Who?" Dave practically shouted, drawing the lads attention away from their idle chatter.
"Natalie," came the reply he had prayed he wouldn't hear. "I gave the heroin to Natalie."
Poppy
Allie frowned into the darkness, her heart pounding as she listened to her daughter screaming her lungs out. What the hell was happening to her? She remembered arguing with Natalie and being at the top of the-…
"Allie!"
The shrill cry of her name forced her eyes open and she groaned at the light above her, the faint rise and fall of her chest as she breathed causing waves of agony to ripple through her body.
Turning her head to the side, she saw Natalie sat up against the wall, her hands shaking as she pinned them between her legs, staring at her as though she didn't know who she was. A large graze marred the side of her face and although red and angry looking, it wasn't bleeding.
"Allie?" Lara's voice became less of an echo and with pained eyes, Allie turned her head back to face her, realising only then that she was lying face down on the hard wooden floor of the first landing.
"Shit," she cried, squeezing her eyes shut as she moved to push herself up.
"Don't move," Lara ordered her. "Just stay still, tell me what hurts,"
"I just took a face first trip down a flight of stairs," the blonde grumbled. "Everything fucking hurts,"
Relived to hear her speaking if nothing else, Lara laughed lightly and gently smoothed some of Allie's hair back from her face.
"Lara," she whispered. "Go and see Poppy," she looked up at her friend and saw the reluctance in her eyes. "Look, I'm fine, just please, she's screaming her head off, go make sure she's ok."
Nodding, Lara pushed herself to her feet and left Allie lying there, her eyes drifting shut again as yet more pain swept through her body. She wiggled her fingers and toes for a moment and then once content that nothing was broken, she rolled onto her back and cried out at the pain which shot through her shoulder.
At least if you're in pain it means you're alive, she thought as she glanced down at the remaining stairs which curved as they led down to the foyer. Had she carried on down those, she was certain she'd have been killed.
"Are you alright?" she forced herself to look at Natalie who was still sat motionless, her eyes glassy and empty. "Natalie?" she shouted impatiently.
The brunette jumped and met her fierce gaze, swallowing hard as she pulled her knees up to her body as though trying to make herself smaller. She didn't say anything, just carried on crying silently, the tears streaming down her face in violent torrents, causing her pale skin to turn a sickly red colour.
Allie looked away from her, frowning when she felt something warm and wet trickle down her arm.
Blood, she realised, wiping it away and making an even bigger mess.
Pulling her sweater to one side, she saw that the cut on her shoulder although small was quite deep and bleeding steadily.
"Shit," she hissed, shifting into an upright position and feeling the tears building up in her eyes as the torn skin on her shoulder stretched slightly.
Thankfully Poppy seemed to have stopped crying and Allie realised that Lara must have calmed her down. She wanted to see her, to get up and limp into the kitchen, pull her daughter into her arms and hug her for a good few hours, just to make sure that she was alright.
Dragging herself over to the far wall, she rested back against it and closed her eyes, breathing steadily as she pressed her left hand against the hole in her shoulder, trying to stop the blood which was saturating her light blue tee.
Allie looked up at the sound of Natalie crying, her eyes widening in horror when she saw the young girl shaking violently, her hands trembling as she reached out to Allie.
"It hurts," Natalie whispered harshly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Oh fuck, it hurts,"
Allie stared at her for a moment before following her gaze down to the floor where the bottle of pills lay.
She's in withdrawal, Allie realised. The drugs are leaving her system and she needs these to help her through it.
"Allie," Natalie keened out, her teeth chattering together painfully as her entire body shook. "I need the…" she clamped her eyes shut and cried out. "Christ, make it stop,"
Gulping hard, Allie picked up the bottle and turned it over in her fingers for a moment, staring at the label again and realising that the name of the drug referred to morphine. She should have known that; working in the fashion business had given her as much knowledge of drugs as most rock stars had. She'd lost count of the number of models she'd had to force feed bread and hot coffee in the mornings because of their 'low blood sugar'.
"It helps you get over the heroin," Allie mumbled, seeing Natalie nod as she looked up from examining the label.
"Please," the brunette begged.
Allie blinked slowly, feeling sluggish as the blood continued to stream steadily out of the hole in her shoulder. Her eyes felt heavy and the world around her seemed to slow down rapidly as she looked into the young girls desperate light green eyes.
"Allie, please," she tried again, holding out her shaking hand for the pills.
The blonde nodded, reaching out clumsily to hand them to her.
Natalie watched as something in her demeanour changed, her emerald eyes which had been unfocused and drowsy looking up into hers with such hatred and disdain that Natalie almost gasped.
"Fuck you," Allie hissed as with her last ounce of strength, she threw the bottle of pills down the remaining stairs, far out of Natalie's reach. Then it was only a second later before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed against the wall.
Pete threw the door of the car open before Dave had even stopped, pressing his sneaker against the still moving ground and ignoring the shout of protest his friend gave as he flung himself from the passenger seat.
Jake Whitfield was stood stoically outside the newly painted iron gates of 32 Alexandra Square Road, the same house that Dave had lived in back when they were in school.
Although now he was older and supposedly wiser, Pete had to admit that it looked a far cry from the warm abode where Pete, Bov and Dave would sneak bags of chips, cans of stolen cider and Steve's discarded copies of Playboy up the stairs to Dave's room.
"Pete!" Dave called, cutting the engine and breaking into a run after the tall blonde, not bothering to pull the seat back to that the others could clamber out.
Jake looked up at Pete as he stalked menacingly towards him, swallowing hard and forcing himself not to turn and run. The taller mans blue eyes darkened considerably the closer he got until there was no more than a metre or so between them.
Jake had always liked Pete; he remembered back when he was younger and Pete would always let him join in with the footie games even when Dave was shouting at him to piss off and go home. There had always been a kindness about the guy, the somewhat cocky smirk he often wore had made Jake wonder why the hell is was that people were so afraid of Pete Dunham.
But know, right in that second, he knew exactly why.
"Where are they?" Pete spoke so quietly, so frighteningly calmly that Jake gulped.
"What?"
"The rest of the needles, pills, whatever the fuck is it you're running around and dishing out to people like candy," he took another step forward and held out his hand. "You best fucking hand them over and I mean now,"
Jake forced his eyes away from Pete and looked around him to where Dave was standing, his arms folded as he looked at his brother in disgust.
"I don't have it," he told Pete, lifting his chin up defiantly. "I swear,"
Pete regarded him for a long moment and nodded slowly, the light wind picking up around them as the street descended into an eerie silence.
"You swear?" Pete narrowed his eyes. "Oh right then, we as long as you swear, then I 'spose I should believe you, shouldn't I?"
Jake stared back at him for a moment, his heart pounding as Pete reached out quick enough to actually make him cry out in fear and grabbed the younger man by the neck, slamming his head into the brick wall behind him and moving in on him.
"Let's get one thing straight," Pete hissed in his face. "The only reason you're even still fucking breathing is because you're Dave's little brother, but just because I'm generous on that front does not mean you want to be fucking me about," he tightened his grip to prove his point. "So once again, where are the rest of the drugs?"
"I didn't put the needle in her arm, Pete," Jake choked out. "That was all her and if you think that beating the shit out of me is going to change the fact that little Natalie is a junky then you're even fucking dumber than you look."
Pete growled and brought his fist back before slamming it into his stomach knocking the wind right out of him.
"Fuck!" Jake cried, bending over and wrapping his arms around his middle.
"Where are they?" Pete shouted, shoving him back again and grabbing him by the collar.
"They're in my fuckin car, alright?" he shouted. "There's a bag in the glove box,"
Pete nodded to Dave who quickly walked over to the dark green Clio and opened the door on the passengers side, popping open the glove box and pulling open the worn looking bag, holding it up for Pete to see.
"You've got it now," Jake tried to shove him back. "What more do you want me to do?"
"What? You hand over the drugs and you want a fuckin' gold star or something?" Pete snorted. "Mate, you're lucky I ain't shipping you off to the old bill. From what I 'ear you've already got one arrest on your record so I bet they're just itching to take you down."
"I didn't so anything wrong," Jake snapped. "I sold some drugs, you seriously reckon I'm the only teenager in the UK who sells a bit of crack here and there?"
"I reckon you're the only one stupid enough to bad mouth a bloke who could put you in a coma with one punch," Pete told him darkly. "And as for not doing anything wrong…you gave a 22 year old girl heroin and then left 'er to die in a pool of vomit. You're hardly gonna get short listed for a fuckin' MBE for that, are you?"
"She came to me," Jake told him fiercely. "I tried to tell 'er no but she was so fuckin' persistent. "I offered her weed thinking that it wouldn't be as bad, it wouldn't do the same damage, but she wanted the smack and I needed the money. It's not my fuckin' fault that she can't handle it, its not like she was alone was it? That bird found her?"
"What bird?" Pete frowned.
Over his shoulder, Dave tensed up and prepared himself for the onslaught.
"The red ead, who lives with you and your missus," Jake snapped.
Pete's eyes darkened again and Jake suddenly wished he'd kept his mouth shut.
"Are you trying to tell me that you did heroin in my house?" he whispered, moving in on him again. "You brought smack in the house where I live with my wife and my daughter?"
Jake refused to give him any kind of response and instead stared back at him with a confidence that even Dave knew was all bravado.
"You sick little cunt!" Pete roared, launching himself forward and punching Jake hard in the face. There was a faint crack as his fist connected with the kid's nose but he didn't worry about it.
"Pete!" Dave shouted, trying desperately to pull him back. "That's enough!"
True, Dave was as furious with his brother as Pete was but that didn't mean he could stand by and watch while Pete beat him to death.
"What if Allie had been there?" Pete screamed, getting in one last kick to Jake's ribs before Dave managed to throw him backward. "What if she'd been in the house with Poppy and she'd walked in on all that? What the fuck could have happened?"
Not having an answer to give him, Dave stayed silent, the only noise around them coming from Jake as he coughed and spluttered, trying to pull himself up from the ground.
Suddenly someone's phone started ringing, the shrillness of the tone surrounding the group of men as they stood motionless beside the road.
Cringing inwardly, Matt pulled his phone out of his pocket and frowned when he saw that it was Lara calling him.
"Hello?" he asked quietly.
"Matt!" she shouted. "Thank fuck, what is this national don't-pick-up-your-phone-if-you're-a-hooligan day?"
"What?" he frowned.
"I've tried calling Pete for the last fucking half hour, where is he?"
"He's here, he's right in front of me," Matt pulled the phone away from his ear and cleared his throat. "Pete, is your phone on?"
The blonde glared at him but pulled his phone out of his pocket nonetheless and squinted at it before shaking his head.
"No," Matt spoke into the receiver, wincing when Lara cursed loudly. "It must have run out of battery or something,"
"Well, can you do me favour and put him on?"
"Is everything ok?" Matt asked her urgently.
"Pete, we should go, yeah?" Bovver cleared his throat. "There's not much point in staying 'ere is there? If we 'ead back now, we can probably go and see-…"
"Pete," Matt called to him again, his blue eyes wide.
"What?" Pete snapped.
"It's…"
"I know its fucking Lara on the phone, just tell 'er I ain't in the mood for a chat right now, will ya?" he shouted.
"But it's about Allie,"
The name stopped Pete in his tracks, his mouth was still half open where he was obviously about to snap at Matt again and his eyes were wide with fear.
"She's in the hospital with Natalie," Matt continued. "There was an accident,"
"And lift your arm up,"
Allie did as she was told, rolling her eyes slightly as the doctor examined her movement as though it would actually give something away.
"And back down,"
Dr Fjord looked like remarkably like a Santa Claus audition reject, his protruding belly and half moon glasses reminding Allie of coca cola commercials that only ever came on at Christmas and as he asked her to repeat the movement once again, she began to question her sanity as she pictured him in the fur topped hat and red jump suit.
"What is this doing exactly?" she asked him as he tapped the end of her fingers with his pen.
"Oh nothing really," he told her with a slight grin. "This is just how we consultants get our kicks during the night shifts," he leant in and met her eyes conspiratorially. "Y'know we all have a bet going as to who can actually get a patient to perform the YMCA,"
Despite the worry in her stomach and the pain in her shoulder, Allie laughed and shook her head as he gently eased her arm back down and placed her chart next to her on the bed before reaching for her neck.
"Now your x-ray came back clear but you should still expect to get one heck of a bump on your noggin in the next few days," he told her, pressing his fingers to where her spine met her head. "And tenderness?"
"Nope," she shook her head.
"And the nausea is gone?" he looked at her seriously.
"I feel fine, honestly," she glanced down at her bandaged shoulder. "A little sore but other than that…"
"If only every patient was as eager as you are to escape," Dr Fjord joked. "I've got a lady down the hall who is convinced that by ripping her toenail off she may well have incurred a case of internal bleeding in her foot,"
"Rough night?" Allie laughed, kicking her feet like a little girl as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Rough and seemingly endless, just like every other night here," he winked at her. "Now, Mrs Dunham I'd like to keep you in for just a little while longer," he told her. "Not over night but just for another hour or so until I'm convinced that any shock has worn off,"
"I'm f…"
"Funnily enough victims who are in shock always seem to be fine," Dr Fjord shook his head. "You've got a little one to look after; you can't afford to be playing games with your own health. Trust me on this one,"
As if on queue Poppy started crying from out in the hallway and Allie sighed.
"Do you think it would help if I stuck out my stomach and said 'ho, ho, ho' to her?" Dr Fjord asked, making her laugh.
"She's a little young," Allie told him. "But it might help cheer me up. Not that I really see the resemblance," she added quickly, feeling back for more or less mocking her doctor to his face.
"Oh don't worry about it," he laughed. "At least you're subtle unlike your friend with the red hair who started singing 'Holidays are coming' when I walked past her,"
Allie shook her head and laughed not expecting much less from Lara.
"I've got to go check on your friend down the hall," he told her referring to Natalie. Allie fought the urge to snort when he used the term 'friend' and instead carried on looking at him intently. "I'll be back in a little while but until then, it sounds like someone might be hungry," he nodded to the hall where Poppy's cry got even louder.
"Yeah," she sighed realising that she had left Poppy with nothing but bottles all weekend and she was probably missing the actual human touch of being fed.
Dr Fjord opened the door and gestured for Lara to come in, stepping aside as she slipped past him with the squirming baby in her arms.
"Are you ok?" Lara asked urgently as she approached the bed.
"Yeah," Allie nodded. "Just a couple of stitches and a head exam, all run of the mill apparently."
Lara nodded and handed Poppy over, the way in which the youngster ceased crying as soon as she was in Allie's arms never ceasing to amaze her.
"I changed her but she's still grumpy," she explained.
"I think she might want dinner," Allie raised an eyebrow. "Feel like playing guard dog while I feed her?"
"Sure," Lara leant against the doorframe so that if anyone came in she could usher them straight back out as Allie went about feeding the infant.
"They uh, they let me go in and see Natalie,"
Allie didn't look up from her daughter, instead brushing her light and barely there head of hair as she fed happily.
"She's fine," Lara continued. "They had her on a drip, she was suffering from withdrawal and dehydration but she'll be able to come home tonight,"
"I threw her pills down the stairs," Allie told her quietly, looking up from Poppy and shaking her head lightly.
"What?" Lara frowned.
"Right before I passed out," she swallowed hard. "She was shaking and crying and she asked me to hand her the pills the hospital had given her…and I picked them up and I threw them down the stairs,"
"You were angry," Lara shrugged, sitting down on the plastic chair near the door. "I would have done the same thing,"
"No," Allie shook her head. "I didn't know what those pills were, Lara. For all I knew they could have been to save her life but even with that thought in my head, I didn't want her…" she bit her lip. "I wanted her to get hurt, I wanted her to suffer for what she'd done…for who she is,"
"Allie…" Lara shook her head.
"I could have killed her and I knew it and I did it anyway," Allie felt sick at the thought. "If anything had happened to her Pete would have never forgiven me,"
"And what if something had happened to you?" Lara demanded. "Allie, that little bitch could have killed you when she pulled you down the stairs! If something had happened to you, you would have left Pete and Poppy and me, but do you think she gave a crap about that?"
Allie didn't have the chance to answer as there was a knock at the door which made them both jump.
"One second," Lara called.
"Its ok," Allie nodded, fixing her hospital gown and propping Poppy up on her shoulder, rubbing her back and smiling lightly when the baby hiccupped in her ear. "She's done now,"
Lara pulled the door open and a young looking nurse stepped inside, her dirty blonde hair pulled into a neat plait, her chubby face kind and gentle.
"Sorry to interrupt," she gestured to Poppy. "But your husband is here,"
Allie's eyes widened and she stared at Lara for a short moment.
"I called him," the red head shrugged. "Allie, he needed to know what was going on. Plus what if he got back from football and all that was there to greet him was a nice puddle of blood on the stairs?"
With a sigh, Allie nodded and smiled at the nurse.
"Should I bring him through?" she asked.
"Yeah, please," Allie told her. "Thank you,"
She smiled and went back out into the hall.
"Here," Lara walked over and picked Poppy out of her arms. "Little madam here looks about ready to crash, so why don't I take her for a walk in the gardens?"
"Ok," Allie whispered, kissing Poppy on the head and handing her over, keeping hold of her limp little hand as she nodded off to sleep, her head flopping onto Lara's shoulder. "Thanks."
"Its fine," she smiled.
"No," Allie shook her head. "I meant…"
"I know," Lara smiled, leaning over and kissing her forehead. "And like I said, its fine."
She had just opened the door when Pete appeared in front of her, the relief clear on his face as his determined gaze flickered back and forth between Allie and Poppy.
His daughter automatically reached for him and he picked her up out of Lara's arms for a minute, hugging her as close as he could without hurting her and taking a deep breath of her scent. Her tiny body was warm as she snuggled against his chest, the plump weight of her in his hands making his heart beat quicken as once again his brain was plagued with a series of 'what if's'.
"She's ok," Lara told him, placing a hand on his arm. "They both are,"
He nodded and kissed Poppy's head, rubbing her back gently as he handed her back to Lara, smiling comfortingly at the infant when she cried out at being taken away from her father.
"I'll see you soon, sweetheart," he told her, kissing her hand and shushing her before quickly squeezing Lara's hand as she past him.
Once the door had shut again, his gaze turned to the blonde still sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs as though she had not a care in the world, something he knew to be bullshit just from looking into her eyes.
She was trying to smile at him but it wasn't even trying to reach her eyes and although she was attempting to make it look as though she was fine, he could see how sore her shoulder was.
"So," Allie cleared her throat. "I hear West Ham won 3-0," she pitifully lifted a hand in mock celebration. "Go team,"
Pete didn't say a word to her, he just crossed the room in a few long strides and without touching her shoulder, pulled her to him, burying his face in her neck and closing his eyes tightly.
"So much for the perfect birthday weekend, huh?" she whispered shakily against his shoulder, wondering why her eyes were suddenly stinging and brimmed with tears. "Oh well, nothing says welcome back home like a tumble down a set of stairs, right?"
Pete pulled back from her and cupped her face gently, smoothing her hair back and looking into her eyes, his own eyes narrowing when he saw her trying not to cry.
"Oi," he whispered. "What's all this?"
"I was so scared, Pete," she sobbed, wondering why it was only hitting her now. "I was so angry and everything happened really fast and all I could think was that if something happened…"
"Hey, hey, hey," Pete pulled her into his chest and kissed her forehead. "Shhhh, its alright, I've got you, I'm here now,"
Allie trembled against his chest and he rubbed her back with one hand while the other ran through her hair. That always seemed to calm her down and sure enough a minute or so later, her sobs subsided and she merely rested against him tiredly.
Pete pulled back from her and watched as she reached for a tissue and wiped her face bashfully, not meeting his eyes.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't mean to go all Mary Jane on you,"
Rubbing her arm gently, he shook his head and pulled the material of her hospital gown to one side, his eyes darkening when the bandage came into view. A spot of blood the size of a £2 coin sat in the middle of the white cotton and he bent forward, brushing his lips over it tenderly and willing it to disappear.
"You got hurt," Pete breathed, his jaw twitching angrily.
Allie saw his fists clench at his side and gulped, knowing that soon he would snap and someone out there be it one of the boys or some poor unsuspecting orderly was going to get the brunt of his fury.
"It's just a scratch," she told him. "Nothing bad, it barely even needed one stitch. Honestly, look at me, Pete," she touched his face. "I'm fine…I'm crying like a little girl but I'm fine."
"Allie," he whispered, his voice cracking slightly and filling her with horror. "Baby if something had happened to you and I hadn't been there," he looked at her, not really caring all that much that his eyes were filled with tears. "Its my fuckin' fault, I should have known that this would happen, I should have known that she couldn't be trusted…"
"Pete, don't," Allie shook her head, pulling him down to her and kissing him softly. "Look, I'm ok, see?" she picked up his hand and pressed it over her chest. "I've got a pulse and everything,"
"What happened?" Pete met her eyes dead on and held onto her, his hands drifting over her body out of habit, checking that she was ok. That she was still here.
"It was an accident," Allie looked down. "We were…we were arguing and then she fell, she had hold of my arm so I fell with her. I know that maybe I should have stopped, I should have backed off," she shook her head and a fresh tear fell down her cheek. "But I couldn't…she'd brought drugs into the house I grew up in, the house that I'm raising my daughter in. I hated her so much Pete, in that one moment, I hated her so, so much,"
"Shhhh," Pete held her tighter, feeling the tension in her muscles as she worked herself up. "I know, babe. I know,"
"How?" she frowned. "How did you know about the drugs?"
"Because it was Dave's little brother who sold them to her," he answered.
"What?" Allie gasped. She'd met Jake Whitfield a number of times and aside from the almost impossible level of cockiness that she associated with all teenage boys she had picked up on nothing out of the ordinary. In fact he'd seemed like a good kid, always trying his hardest to fit in with the boys but never quite being able to step out of Dave's shadow. It had reminded her of all the things Pete used to tell her about Steve when they were growing up.
"Now its just figuring out what the fuck we do now," he shook his head.
"I'm not letting her set foot back in that house, Pete," Allie told him firmly. "I mean it, it might make me look like a heartless bitch but I don't care right now. All I care about is you and Poppy and I'm not having her in the same house as our daughter,"
"I know," Pete told her, not just saying it to please her but genuinely meaning it. "I just don't know what to do with her…my aunt Kate moved to Bristol last year and I can't see Natalie going to live with her. Especially not after she finds out what happened."
"So what do we-…"
"Mrs Dunham?" Dr Fjord appeared in the doorway once again, smiling at her with a warmth that reminded her of her own father. "Ah, my apologies, I had no idea you had company,"
"No, its ok," Allie gestured for him to come in. "This is my husband, Pete,"
"Good to meet you," Pete stuck out his free hand that wasn't resting on Allie's knee and greeted the old man.
"You too, Mr Dunham," he nodded and then went back to looking at Allie. "I've been over your x-rays and there seems to be what could be a hairline fracture on your skull,"
Pete tensed and held her tighter but the doctor shook his head.
"We can't see properly because of the angle and I can almost guarantee you that its nothing but as it's a head injury we're dealing with, we have to be sure," he stepped aside and let an orderly enter the room with a wheelchair.
"You're kidding?" Allie looked at it with disdain.
"Mrs Dunham, I would lose my job if I let you stroll about this hospital with a possible skull fracture," Dr Fjord smiled tightly. "And given its still two months till December, there's no way I can wait that long to find work as a Santa in one of the shopping centres," he patted the handle bars of the chair. "Now hop in,"
"Go on," Pete told her, stepping back and helping her down off of the table. "I'll wait here, yeah?"
"Ok," she told him with a nervous smile that made his stomach ache. Kissing her gently, he watched as she sat down in the chair and folded her hands which he could bet good money she didn't want him to see were shaking in her lap and proceeded to get pushed out into the hall.
He waited a few seconds before following her out and making his way down the hall to where one of the nurses had told him that Natalie was staying. Her room was bigger than Allie's, there were more machines in it and even though her injuries were less serious than the blonde's she looked about ten times worse.
Taking a deep breath, Pete pushed the door open and saw the shock mix with fear on her face as she turned to face him, gripping the metal rails of the bed so had that her knuckles turned white.
"Pete," she breathed out with a sob of relief. "No one's been into see me yet, I didn't know what was going on or anything."
She watched as he closed the door behind him and walked over to her bed, sitting down on the chair beside it and leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees.
The last time he had been in a hospital had been the day that Poppy was born; the happiest day of his life. He remembered how he'd run out full pelt into the hallway, jumping on Steve's back as he shouted to all of them that he had a little girl, the loud cheer from the boys receiving looks of both amusement and disdain as they hugged him tightly and quizzed him on her weight, name, eyes, how Allie was and all the rest.
And now here he was again: seven months later with no laughter to break his mood, only heaviness in his heart as he stared at the broken girl who used to be the closest thing he had to a little sister.
"Pete?" she asked again, reaching for his hand. "I don't…I don't remember anything, you have to help me," she sounded so young that he had to close his eyes and force himself to remember who she was and what she had done.
Natalie watched in despair as he quickly pulled his hand out from under hers and met her eyes, the blue depths she was so used to seeming dead and unresponsive as he stared back at her.
"I'm not helping you," he told her. "I'm done helping you; everything I've ever fuckin' done for you, you've just thrown back in my face,"
"Pete…" she sobbed.
"I defended you to Allie, y'know?" he snapped. "Every time she'd tell me she was worried, I'd say that you were family, that we owed it to you to help you out," he shook his head and snorted. "What a fuckin' mug I was, eh? See the way I figure it, I don't owe you nothing no more." He looked at her and shook his head, his hands tightening on the wooden arms of the chair he was sat in. "I'm done, Nat. I can't keep doing this,"
She braced herself for the words that she had been waiting for for the last 18 years but had never quite expected to hear from him. Until now, when even she knew she deserved them.
"You're on your own."
As you can guess, the next chapter takes off pretty much right from this very point. Originally it was one big thing but I figured that as this was already so long I'd have to split it into two. Part 2 will be up on Sunday I guess...depends on how nice the reviews are...hint, hint! haha. xx