Let me heal the wounds you've held on to for all these years


When Boomer got home from work that afternoon, he opened his front door and was welcomed by the sound of his wife throwing up loudly in the bathroom.

He glanced into the living room, and saw his two daughters peering out timidly, then hovered through to the bathroom.

"You okay sweetness?" He asked. Bubbles put her hand out, signalling she was fine; she wasn't exactly able to answer properly right now. Sure enough, a fresh round of retching brought on a fresh round of puke.

Boomer grimaced, patting her back gently. "Definitely pregnant." He muttered. Bubbles gave him a thumbs up over the bowl.

He smirked, turning to go tend to his little girls. "Hey Daddy… Is Mommy not well?" Bridget asked gently.

"She's fine, she just took one look at your bedrooms and it made her yack." Boomer said, pulling a 'what are ya gunna do?' face at her and shrugging.

Bridget's little face turned into one of perfect shock. But Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Really?" She mumbled sheepishly.

"Mmhmm." Boomer replied casually.

"He's only kidding around Bridget." Bonnie assured her sister. But the matter of fact look on her father's face made her cocksure look falter a little.

"Just how clean are your bedrooms?" Boomer questioned, and Bonnie thought about it for a second, while Bridget automatically looked appalled.

"Not clean at all!" She cried.

Boomer shrugged with a sigh, and in seconds the pair of them had zoomed up the stairs, leaving a powder blue and dark aqua flash in their wake.

Boomer smirked, turning back to Bubbles, who was leaning on the edge of the toilet now, panting.

"All done?" He asked, stroking her back again.

"I think so," She mumbled, wiping her mouth. "You know they don't always know when you're kidding right?"

"I know, but if it gets them to tidy their rooms." Boomer said, smirking again.


"Wowee, he sure was grumpy." Sasha said sarcastically as Blossom left a patient's room, stepping into the same stride as her and following her through the hospital corridors.

"Were you eavesdropping?" Blossom asked, and Sasha nodded bluntly.

"Yeah, what an ass. Do you get many men act like ungrateful pigs when you're, you know, helping them?" Sasha asked as they turned a corner and came to a halt at the nurses station, where Blossom pulled the man's chart from under her arm and began writing on it.

"Unfortunately, yes. There's a lot of sexual politics in a hospital when it comes to male and female doctors. Sadly, a lot of men seem to think if you own a uterus you automatically have no idea what you're doing and that you should be wearing a tiny low cut dress with a big red cross on it, putting a finger to your chin and pouting confusedly. Not everyone thinks like that, it's normally the older generation that's the worst." Blossom said, eliciting a giggle from a nurse standing nearby.

"Huh," Sasha said, shaking her head. "Seems like a real ball ache."

"It can be, but as you and I both know more than others, the world is full of abominable men, but not every one in existence was raised like that." Blossom uttered.

"Hmm. I've yet to find someone to prove me otherwise." Sasha muttered, and Blossom smiled.

"You will. And when you do, they'll be a real game changer." Blossom assured her, but the young woman still looked skeptical. "So," Blossom said, changing the subject. "Do you not have a job to go to, or anything? Or don't they mind you following me around here all day?"

"I did have a job to go to, butttt right now I'm in between. I'm currently hunting for another." Sasha murmured a little too casually.

"Oh, I'm sorry, what happened?" Blossom questioned, tucking her next patient's chart under her arm.

"Apparently I was 'acting out'... I dunno, just didn't like it that much. I studied art at college so, as you can imagine there's a shit ton of job ops just lying in wait for me." She said sarcastically, and Blossom smiled a slanted smile.

"Well, what do you want to do?"

Sasha shrugged. "I dunno, I just like painting. Anyway, what's with all the questions? I'm the one supposed to be hounding you, not the other way around."

Blossom sighed as she approached her next patient's room. "Sasha, I've already told you I'm not going to the police. I don't want to drag it all up again."

"I hate to break it to you sweetums but Jeremy has already dragged it all up when he went to the fricking papers! You should be trying to save your name by shaming that guy with me, and sending him to fucking jail." Sasha said, attempting to follow Blossom into her patient's room, but Blossom shut the door on her.

That wouldn't deter her though. She folded her arms across her chest, watching Blossom chat to her patient from the side of the door. Blossom was a strong woman, she knew that about her because she'd always been a strong person; Sasha knew that just from watching the towns celebrities save the day as she grew up. And this was why she wouldn't give up on her, regardless of how long it took her to get her to go to the police department.

Ten minutes later and Blossom reemerged from the patient's bedroom. "Think about how many women we are potentially saving from going through what we did. If we speak up, there could be more of his victims coming forward. We could get justice for so many."

Blossom furrowed her brow, knowing Sasha was right. The justice-fighting side of her was swaying, but the frightened side still won out. "Sasha, I just don't know if I have it in me -"

"Don't you want to set a good example? When your little boy and girl are older and inevitably find out about all this, don't you want them to know you fought for justice? Wouldn't you want your own kids to fight for justice if they were wronged?" Sasha cried, and Blossom gave her a flat look.

"Stop bringing my kids into this." She instructed strictly.

"You know I'm right! If you'd just come down to the station with me, we could - What's wrong?" Sasha asked, interrupting herself. Blossom's face had paled a little as she looked behind Sasha.

"Nothing." Blossom said, looking away and failing to conceal the sudden panic that had graced her features.

When Sasha turned her head, she saw Jeremy walking down the corridor. Blossom caught his eye and he looked over at her, leering. The pink puff glared back at him.

Sasha whipped her head around quickly, not wanting him to recognise her. She had seen Jeremy about, but he hadn't noticed her yet as far as she could tell.

Jeremy approached them, giving Sasha a brief, unobservant look.

"Hey Blossom. I see you're still talk of the town huh? I'm not surprised, that article really went in hard on you huh?" He said, a nasty expression gracing his features.

Blossom screwed her face up at him. "I know it was you." She told him, her voice firm.

He shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about. And you have no proof. Again. All I can say is, I'm sure you regret your actions from the other day now, hmm?" His voice had gotten a threatening edge to it, and he looked at Sasha, catching himself slightly; but he did a double take when he did.

"Sasha? Sasha Wood?" Jeremy said, shocked.

She glared at him, folding her arms across her chest. Jeremy looked from her to Blossom, putting two and two together.

"What's this, some kind of club for pathetic women?" He asked, and they both glared at him. "So what are we new besties or something? 'Spose you've got a lot in common right?"

"You are sick." Blossom murmured, but he only laughed in response.

"So what do you do, get together and discuss the best sex you've ever had?" He laughed cruelly, shaking his head as he sauntered away.

Sasha felt herself breathing again as he walked away. When had she held her breath?

"That guy, I can't fucking believe it. When I think about what I'd say, what I'd do if I saw him again, I get so angry and upset. But when he's right there, I freeze up, and it's all just happening again." Sasha said, her teeth grit together.

"I know." Blossom said quietly.

Sasha turned her brown eyes onto Blossom then. "Don't you want to shut him up?!" She hollered angrily. "Listen to him, walking around like he's the man, when he's done something so -"

"Fine, Sasha." Blossom interrupted her.

"What?" Sasha asked, confused.

"I'll think about it. Like, I'll actually think about it." Blossom said, and she sounded like she meant it.

"Really?!" Sasha cried.

"Yes. Really. He can't just go about thinking like that, and acting like that. It's not right." Blossom said.

"No. It's not. Look," Sasha pulled a pen off the pocket in Blossom's scrubs, and grabbed her hand, scribbling onto the top side of it with the biro. "Here's my number. You call me. Anytime, okay? In fact, drop call me ASAP so I can call you anytime."

"You could have just written it onto a piece of paper." Blossom muttered, pulling her phone from her pocket and adding Sasha's number into it.

"I'm going to the police tonight. I've been putting it off but, after that, I'm fucking going tonight. Please, do think about it." Sasha said, her voice pleading.

"I will, I will." Blossom promised her.


"Hello Miss. Paxton, ready for your pain meds?" Blossom asked as she walked into Hayley Paxton's hospital room holding a small cup of pills.

"I already told you you can call me Hayley." Hayley said, sitting up in her bed ready to take the tablets.

"Right, sorry. I have so many patients, I forget which ones prefer the formalities and which ones don't." Blossom said, trying to keep the conversation light and professional.

"Well, maybe if you'd stop avoiding me you'd remember I don't mind you calling me by my first name." Hayley said, and Blossom looked at her momentarily, then began to fiddle with her IV as she took her pain pills.

"Hayley, I'd hate for you to think I'm avoiding you." Blossom murmured, and Hayley cocked her head to the side, giving Blossom an irritated look.

"I think we both know why you are." She said. Blossom didn't respond, she just unclipped her chart from the bottom of the bed and began to flick through it. "Blossom, will you please just talk to me? You never answered my question and it's been driving me mad."

"Hayley I'm your doctor, there are things that are appropriate for us to talk about, and things that are inappropriate. Gossipy articles in the newspaper about my life are under the inappropriate section. I'm sorry. I'm sure one of the nurses would love to scrutinize my personal life with you." Blossom said a little coldly.

"Blossom, you know I don't mean it like that! I know you're my doctor but, I consider you a friend too." Hayley said quietly.

Blossom wanted to tell her she saw her that way too - even though her brother was a rapist, who had preyed on her, she was still a lovely woman. But she was unsure about talking to her about all this. Was it the best idea, really? To be telling this woman her brother had raped her, when her brother stalked the halls of this very hospital? What would Jeremy say, or do if he knew Hayley knew? Would he be angry? He'd probably flat out deny it. If he could lie to all of Townsville in the paper, he could lie to his sister.

Hayley had been watching Blossom through the silence that had ensued. She quickly realised Blossom wasn't going to talk. The more she was around the woman, the more her fears were confirmed. Hayley decided if Blossom wouldn't talk, she would.

"It makes sense for it to be him. The anonymous man in the paper. I've had friends of mine accuse him of it in the past." Hayley said, looking down into her lap.

Blossom looked at her with wide eyes.

"Jeremy's my big brother, he's 4 years older than me." Hayley began to explain as Blossom did the math in her head. Hayley was 29, that would make Jeremy 33. Blossom had had no idea she was older than him, she was almost 36.

"When I was 17, he'd come home from college and my friends would go gaga over him. They always did - they all thought he was this amazingly cool and buff dance student. And I obviously thought he was really great too. He'd sneakily buy us alcohol, and we'd all have a great time. Except once, when a friend of mine woke up in bed with him; me and three friends had gone down to stay at his dorm. She said she didn't want to sleep with him, and he put something in her drink that would help her relax. It was her first drinking experience, she reckoned she told Jeremy she was freaking out about her parents finding out, so he gave her a relaxant. My family, we totally lynched her. None of us believed her, no one suspected Jeremy of being capable of such a thing. And he insisted he was innocent. She didn't go to the police. Probably because of the way my family and friends treated her. I totally believed Jeremy when he said it didn't happen. We had no reason to think he would do it. He's a good looking guy, he was always telling us about this girlfriend and that girlfriend." Hayley explained, and Blossom listened carefully.

The pink puff thought back to all those years ago, the night it happened; he had said he had a girlfriend then. It was the only reason she gave him the time of day and didn't just walk away from him. If only she'd known better then.

"But then, 3 years later, something similar happened. He went to New York for a year, he was in some production, and they'd put him up there for the duration of it. I was 20 and me and a few girlfriends went down to stay with him. We did some drinking again and, yet again another friend of mine claimed he had attacked her when she was drunk and out of it." She continued. "We didn't believe her, mainly because she'd only had a few drinks, then she just passed out. Jeremy had laid her down in his roommates' room, so he'd hardly been near her. My family reacted exactly the same way. And so did I - I was livid! She knew what had happened years ago, everyone said she was just copying to get attention. I believed it for some time, but I don't know. I saw the way they were around him, they were just so terrified, and distraught. And it seemed so genuine. My Mom always said they were good actors, and that Jeremy was the innocent one in it all, but... Truth is, I haven't seen anyone behave that way around him but them. They were quite clearly traumatised by being in his presence. And they changed. I mean, we obviously couldn't be friends anymore after that but. I watched from afar the way it changed them. It was like he'd broken them up into little pieces. But like I said, I've not seen anyone act like that around him. Apart from you."

Blossom's expression was that of a deer caught in headlights. But she was also saddened, saddened to hear Jeremy had now at least four victims, so it seemed. And they were so young, too. Just 17 and 20. She couldn't imagine her 17 year old self being able to cope with it at all; her 29 year old self barely had. She then thought of 17/20 year old Brick. He'd have done time over it, she knew that for definite.

"You're frightened of him." Hayley said, watching Blossom intently with an upset expression. "He makes you so uncomfortable, it's plain to see. And then I saw this article, and it implied it was him more than once; his job, having left town for years on end. I guess I just thought it fit. And then after everything I witnessed here, when he suddenly showed up again to see me - I just put two and two together. I'm right, aren't I?"

Blossom continued to look at her with a broken expression, not knowing what to say; not wanting to say anything.

"Please! Just answer me!" Hayley cried desperately. "I need to know!"

"Hayley, I don't want anymore trouble, it's all been stressful enough as it is and, and you don't need any added stress in your life right now so -" Blossom stammered uselessly.

"Oh god, I knew it. I knew it!" She wailed, putting her head in her hands. "How could he?! What is wrong with him?! And my friends! I bet he did it to them too… Oh god!"

Blossom didn't have a lot to say. She went to stroke her hand to comfort her but it somehow didn't feel right. Hayley sobbed quietly, and Blossom turned to leave, not exactly knowing how else to respond.

But as she got to the door, she bumped into Jeremy. He was going into Hayley's room with a brown bag of fast food in his arm just as Blossom was leaving. She froze, her breath hitching as she saw him. He smiled his usual creepy smile at her, but then his eyes flickered back to Hayley, sat in her bed crying, and he scowled at Blossom deeply.

"What have you done?" He growled.


Butch looked across the living room at his son. He was slonked across the sofa opposite him, the remote control balanced on his stomach. And he looked fucking miserable.

"Hey," Butch whispered to Buttercup. She was sitting next to him, slumped on the sofa with her brow knitted. She looked almost as miserable as Jay did. "Something's up with the boy."

He teared his forest green eyes from his son, glancing down at Buttercup again. She still looked pissed off. "Buttercup?" He repeated, and she looked up at him now.

"Hmm?" She answered blankly.

"Jay. What's up with him?"

Buttercup looked over at him too. He did look sort of down. "I don't know. He's not been to Mitch's for awhile now…" She mused. "Think it's bumming him out? Mitch is being such a fucking jerk. I'm gunna have a word with him."

"No, let me. I'll talk to him." Butch said, and Buttercup didn't respond. She supposed it all had just as much to do with Butch as it did her, if not more so. "Hey boyo." Butch called over to Jay, he looked over at him, but didn't move. "What's up?"

"Nothing." He mumbled, and Butch gave him a look of annoyance.

"Cut the teenage crap, what's wrong?" Butch pressed, and Jay gave him an almost identical look of annoyance back.

"Nothing." Jay repeated.

"Mitch being a dick bumming you out?" Butch questioned, and Jay shrugged.

"I dunno." He answered quietly.

"I'm gunna talk to him." Butch said again, determination and anger in his voice. He wouldn't have him hurting his boy.

"Don't, cos I don't care. I'm not going to see him unless he calls to arrange it. If he'd rather be with Princess then, well, fuck him." Jay said furiously, looking up at his parents to see if they were going to tell him off for cussing. Neither batted an eyelid.

"Fine," Butch said, nodding. "That sounds like a fair deal to me, if you're happy with that."

"I am happy with that." Jay said, and he did feel a little better about it all. There was still something on his mind though. But what his mother said next pushed everything to the back of his mind.

"There's half an ice cream cake in the freezer."

He was gone from the sofa to the living room in a whoosh of emerald green.


When Blossom opened the front door that evening and stepped inside, the house was unnaturally quiet. She looked around, still feeling nervous, and realised it was so quiet because Blake and Rosalie weren't here. Where were they?

She was still in her scrubs; she'd left the hospital so quickly she hadn't even bothered changing. She'd just needed to get out of there; Jeremy was angry, and that troubled her somewhat.

When she hovered into the kitchen, Brick was sitting at the dining table, he looked up at her, his expression tired, with a hint of dread, but he smiled a small smile. "Hey."

"Hey. It's quiet.. Too quiet. Where are the kids?" Blossom said, placing her hands on her hips.

"At your Dad's." Brick said, and Blossom screwed her face up in confusion.

"Why?"

"Because, we need to talk and, I thought it'd be better if it was just the two of us. They're way too young to deal with all this." Brick said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What are you talking about?" Blossom said, dismayed. "Why would you do that, I've been away from them all day and then I come home and they're not here?"

"Blossom, we need to talk. You're shutting me out completely, and I just think you really need to think about talking to someone who -" Brick began but Blossom lost it. Something in her snapped, and she totally lost it.

"Would you just stop telling me what to do! Why do you think you can tell me what to do?! Why do you men think you have so much control?!" She yelled, and Brick looked at her, astonished. He got up off of the chair, standing before her.

"Blossom I don't think that - you know I don't fucking think I have control over you! For fuck sake, you know I'm not like that!" He exclaimed, and she gave him a stony look, panting from shouting at him. "I can't read your mind - although I fucking try to. Just tell me how you want me to act! Tell me what you want me to do cos I just don't fucking know anymore."

Blossom's bitter expression softened a little then. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. I feel like I'm going insane." She put her head in her hands, frustrated by the whole situation. "Why am I letting this happen? Why can't I be stronger? Why is he doing this to me?" She murmured into her hands.

Brick stepped forward, wrenching her hands from her face so he could see her. "Blossom, I know you're hiding something, I can see it. I know you've been hiding something for awhile now too, so just out with it. Tell me what's going on."

He still had a hold of her wrists. Blossom tried to pull away but Brick refused to let her. Blossom took this as a sign that he wasn't going to give up on this till she told him, so she gave a resigned sigh. "Jeremy has been at the hospital. Almost everyday for the past month."

"What? WHAT? Why?!" Brick blurted.

"His sister is one of my patients. She has kidney disease, she's waiting for a transplant." Blossom explained.

"He's been at your place of work everyday? For a month? Why the hell didn't you tell me, I'd have been straight down there?!" Brick hollered.

"Exactly!" Blossom yelped. "I can't have you getting into any trouble because of him. I know if you ever come across him again, you'll lose control. I didn't know if you'd stay away, and I wanted to deal with it myself. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I've been so stupid." She said, her hands trembling as she wrung them, agitated. "If he's not in Hayley's room with her, he's right behind me, following me around. But, but he's been so sneaky in his tormenting - no one has noticed the little things he says or looks he gives me. He won't leave me alone. He's mad at me, for going to the police and you three running him out of town. He says I ruined his life! And, and now with Hayley, he's going to be even madder and -" Blossom had begun to burble, then cut herself off, looking up at Brick, numb with fear of his reaction.

"Who is Hayley - what do you mean tormenting?" Brick asked, his voice shallow as he attempted to control his breathing. He was losing it now, and losing it fast.

Blossom didn't want to say. He was mad already, he'd only lose his temper more. "Hayley is his sister.. And just, I dunno just following me around, and just intimidating me. His very presence intimidates me."

"Blossom." Brick said slowly, urging her to quit side skirting.

"Look, there's no point getting mad Brick, what's happened has happened and -" He cut her off.

"Blossom," Brick snapped furiously. "Has he - has he laid a FUCKING FINGER on you?" He bellowed, trying but failing to regain some control. Blossom didn't, couldn't answer, but her expression was enough to give it away.

Brick growled ferociously, grabbing one of their dining chairs and launching it across the room, shattering crockery and utensils on the kitchen sides.

Blossom shielded herself from the glass and ceramic that flew off the side towards them as the chair crashed along the side and onto the floor. "Brick! Brick calm down! Please!" She bawled, grabbing his arm and hanging off it as he clutched another chair. "Brick please, stop, please!"

"When I find him, he's dead. He's a fucking dead man!" Brick roared, punching a large hole into the wall in his anger.

"Brick please stop! Please, you're ruining the house! Just calm down!" Blossom begged, still clinging to him, pulling him back.

"What did he do?" Brick snarled.

"Brick, please." Blossom said in a desperate whisper.

"What did he do?!" Brick demanded, hammering his hand against the wall again, a hole forming instantly in the drywall.

"He just, grabbed at me and - cornered me in the locker room, while I was changing. But nothing happened because I didn't let it." Blossom said, but flinched as Brick turned and hurled another dining chair at the kitchen counter, denting the fridge and destroying anything else that may have escaped his fury.

"Stop! Brick! Please?! Can't you see you're acting just as bad as him!" Blossom yelped, and Brick froze, turning to face her quickly.

"Just as bad as him?" Brick said, breathing raggedly. "Did you actually just say that?! How, HOW can you compare me to him?"

"Him raping me, it wasn't just about sex." Blossom began to explain.

Brick squeezed his eyes shut, fists clenched. "Stop." He warned, not wanting to hear this.

"No, listen to me. It wasn't just about sex, that was something to do with it, but him actually raping me? It was an act of violence, and an act of gaining power and control. Sex is the method used to get that, but violence was the intent. He didn't do it because he loves me or cares about me, did he?! He did it to be violent. You act like this, you're acting on his level." Blossom said, hoping he could somehow understand what she was saying.

Brick opened his eyes, and looked at Blossom, guilt suddenly consuming him, as he added it up in his mind and did his best to understand what she was saying.

He looked around at the mess he'd made, then at Blossom: the tears on her cheeks, utter exhaustion and open vulnerability in her face; and he opened his arms out to her, the chair clattering to the floor. She fell into them instantly.


Blossom padded through from the kitchen, holding her cell phone in her hand. She'd finally gotten changed out of her scrubs; she was now in her pjs. Brick was sitting on the sofa, both elbows leaning on his knees, his chin propped up in his hands.

Blossom peered at him, it was a good few seconds before he turned and looked at her.

"It was the Professor; he put the kids to bed in the spare room. He said they'd been a pleasure and to take our time." Blossom said in a small voice.

Brick nodded. "Just as long as they're both okay."

"They're fine. Enjoying a sleepover at their Grandpa's." Blossom added, putting her phone down on the coffee table.

"Good." He muttered as Blossom perched on the sofa next to him. Brick glanced at her apologetically. "I'll replace everything I broke. And get the worktops, and the walls and, everything fixed."

Blossom nodded as Brick pulled his fingers through his fiery hair.

"I shouldn't have reacted like that." He murmured, and Blossom gave him a sympathetic look. "Sometimes it's just so fucking hard to keep it in."

"No, maybe not, but this has been just as hard on you as it has me. I understand." Blossom said, but Brick shook his head.

"It didn't happen to me, did it?" He muttered, disagreeing.

"It takes down everyone in its path Brick, I told you, especially when it's not being handled correctly. Of course it gets to you too." Blossom said, and Brick sighed.

"Just tell me everything, from the start". Brick said. And Blossom nodded.

"It started when Hayley Paxton arrived at the hospital. She's Jeremy's little sister, she has kidney problems. She's on the transplant list, she'll be with us till she gets one now - or it beats her. Jeremy turned up to see her. At first I thought I could handle it, I didn't think he would be stupid enough to actually try and talk to me or anything. But he did. And I ignored him at first. Then I threatened him, but he's not afraid." Blossom began, noticing Brick's fists clench angrily.

"He should be." Brick said in a low snarl.

"He's not afraid because of the consequences of any of us laying a finger on him." Blossom said, but Brick scoffed lightly.

"What about the consequences of him laying a finger on you? Of him drugging and raping you?" Brick asked bitterly, and Blossom frowned.

"We have a family to think about Brick! If you go beat him up or, or worse - lose control and kill him, you'll go to prison. For a long time. Murder charges, Brick. Do you really want that for your kids? You want Blake and Rosalie to grow up without you? To have to come visit you in a prison.. For you to actually be in prison?" Blossom asked him.

"Of course I don't want that. But, I can't have him strutting around thinking he can taunt you and do whatever he wants. You're as good as my wife, you're the mother of my children, NO ONE treats you like that!" Brick said defiantly, and Blossom smiled at his fierce protectiveness.

"I know.. But there isn't a lot we can do." Blossom said quietly. "Like I tried to explain before - it's not even like I can just go and complain to the chief of medicine or something about him. He's been the perfect gentleman in front of everyone else, besides the odd weird look or comment that they might not catch or understand. I'll end up looking like the strange one. Unless he says or does something inappropriate in front of someone I don't know how I can get rid of him. He's also the only person that has visited Hayley that I've seen - so then I feel bad about potentially taking away her one visitor."

"You should complain anyway! You shouldn't have to deal with this when you're at work! You need to disassociate yourself with him. Get rid of his sister, bump her to someone else." Brick said, but Blossom shook her head helplessly.

"It isn't fair on her though..." Blossom said, shaking her head slightly.

"It isn't fair on you having to go to work everyday and face the guy who got away with doing this to you! And have him acting like he's a normal human being - when he's a fucking monster." Brick retaliated.

"I know, I know. But, she's a nice person and it isn't her fault -" Blossom began but Brick scoffed.

"She's a nice person? Her brother's a rapist! It's like the most reprehensible thing you could do to a person. Blossom I have done some fucked up stuff in my time, but that is beneath even me and my brothers in our heyday." Brick grumbled, stunned at Blossom's way of thinking.

"I know, Brick. But I can't just bump her to someone else. It's not how I do things, it's not how I practice medicine." Blossom explained.

"Well I'm sorry Bloss, but sometimes you've gotta put yourself first! You need to bump her to someone else, she shouldn't be your problem right now." Brick said, and Blossom sighed, knowing he was probably right.

"There's more." Blossom said, swallowing.

"What else happened?" Brick asked, looking around at her curiously.

"After he went to the papers, I started noticing a young woman following me around the hospital." Blossom said, deciding she should tell him about Sasha.

"You're being followed?" Brick asked in exasperation, and Blossom could sense he was getting riled up again.

"I was. She's not following me around anymore. Not in a stalker-y kind of way anyway. By like the third day I approached her and demanded to know who she was. Her name is Sasha Wood. She's 25 years old, Townsville born, and another victim of Jeremy's." Blossom said, and Brick's mouth fell open.

"He did it to her too?" Brick asked, and Blossom nodded.

"She figured out it was him from the article and she figured out I had actually been attacked as well. So she came and found me. She was only 22 when he did it to her. Basically exactly the same scenario too." Blossom said with disgust.

"Why did she find you? For support?" Brick questioned, and Blossom shook her head.

"Well, possibly but, not the main reason. She's going to the police. She never reported it, but what with Jeremy bringing it all up with me again, she's hoping to use the hype and my case to actually get him convicted. But, she'll probably need me to go see the police." Blossom said, fiddling with the hem of her nightdress.

"You've gotta do it Bloss. This is your chance if there ever was one. There's two of you. And potentially more, surely? If she comes forward, they might reopen your case." Brick said, and Blossom nodded.

"I know." Blossom said, her tone somber. "I got to talking with Hayley, Jeremy's sister. She knows, she knows what he's done. She doesn't know about Sasha, but she read the article and kind of guessed it was her brother. Which I thought was bizarre at first, but apparently I wasn't his first victim; but then I already kind of knew that from things he has said. She told me of two times he'd been accused of it when they were growing up. Jeremy knows she knows now too, I think."

"Blossom, look at me." Brick said, scooting along the sofa and taking her hands in his. "He's not going to hurt you anymore. I won't let him hurt you anymore. Okay?"

Blossom nodded, feeling a lump form in her throat. "Okay." She croaked.

"All this - it's going to help. I promise." He pulled her close then, kissing the top of her head.

"I'm sorry I've been so distant. Now you know why I've slipped so much." Blossom murmured into his chest.

"It's okay, now I know I can help. You're safe, I'm not gunna let anything happen to you." Brick continued to promise her. She suddenly felt stupid for ever pushing him away. He loved her, all he wanted to do was look out for her and be there for her. And he couldn't do that if she wouldn't let him.

"I really am sorry." She said, in a small whisper. "It must have made you feel so horrible, me pulling away from you like I have been." She put her hand on his cheek, stroking his stubbly chin.

He hushed her quietly, dipping his head low and kissing her. And she let him.

It was loving, and affectionate, and just how Brick had always touched her; because he loved her. He was stony, he was moody, and sometimes a little dark and cold. But he could hold her so delicately, and kiss her so gently. He was protective, and he was oh so passionate.

His hands slowly lowered as she held his head in her own hands. He was hesitant, she could feel it, but she didn't stop him. She wasn't thinking of Jeremy's hands on her, she was thinking of Brick, and how much she loved him.

She moved her hands down to his shoulders, pushing him gently onto his back, her lips still glued to his as she pulled herself on top of him, straddling his waist as she continued to kiss him deeply.

His hands travelled along the curve of her waist attentively, going along the inside of her nightie, stroking her bare skin beneath. She shivered at his touch, wondering how she could have ever pulled away from him in the past.

Her kisses had begun to travel down the side of his neck, and as she made her way to his collar bone she began to wish the shirt he was wearing just wasn't there any longer.

Brick smirked as she pulled away to unbutton it, tucking a stray copper strand behind her ear.

"Well I wasn't expecting this." He murmured huskily, and she smiled too.

"You were right the other day," She said, exposing his bare chest. "We aren't intimate enough anymore. Whether it be a hug, or a peck on the cheek… Or this." She said, trailing her hands along the grooves of the muscles on his stomach.

"I think I'll leave the kids with the Professor more often." Brick said, his hands wandering up her nightie.

She smirked then, leaning down and kissing him. "We better move this to the bedroom, else there'll be a third on the way." His eyes opened momentarily. The condoms were in his bedside drawer.

Within seconds Brick was up, holding Blossom wrapped around him still. "You don't need to tell me twice." He said, zooming toward their bedroom as Blossom chuckled in his arms.


"Excuse me, Buttercup dear? Could you just take off a couple more plates for me? I don't think my calves can take much more." Ms. Furst called across the gym, and Buttercup turned her way, smiling.

"No problem Ms. Furst." Buttercup said, lifting one off with ease. "Why don't you just try a 10 each side? That'll be easier if your muscles are feeling a pull."

"You're the expert dear. If it'll give me a figure like yours I'm game. And call me Betty for god's sake." She said, fluttering her hands at Buttercup. She smiled, rolling her eyes.

"You're too kind, Betty." Buttercup bantered, and Betty laughed, stretching in her seat. Betty Furst, a woman in her late fifties, was a bit of a regular at the gym, and often asked Buttercup to coach her. Buttercup found her to be one of the gym goer's she'd place in the tolerable section; she said exactly what was on her mind, much like Buttercup did.

"She's a fantastic advertisement for the gym, isn't she?" Lonnie said, appearing out of nowhere, like he seemed to have a habit of doing, and smiling gallantly at Betty and then cocking his eyes over to Buttercup, who rolled hers.

Lonnie was definitely in the aggravating shithead section of people.

"Honey I'd pay double my monthly fee if you could guarantee me I'd walk out looking like her." Betty said, pointing at Buttercup, who smirked back at her, but then frowned when she saw Lonnie was looking her up and down.

"Hard work and dedication is all it takes Ms. Furst." Buttercup said, leaning over one of the poles the plates were hooked onto and picking up a 10 pounder for the other side of the machine she was sitting on.

"Yeah, that and good genes." Betty added, and Buttercup scoffed.

"Excuses, excuses." She piped in sarcastically, and Betty chuckled.

As Buttercup bent down to pick up the second weight plate, she felt someone almost laying against her back and backside; far too close for comfort. She could also feel something pressing against her, something she did not want to feel on her at all.

"Don't mind me, I just need this 25 pounder for my guy over there." Lonnie said, pressing himself against her bottom more as he picked it up and walked away.

Buttercup stood to her full height instantly, incensed by his self assured attitude. Just who the hell did he think he was, resting his crotch on her backside?! She managed to rein in her fury quickly, not wanting to lose her shit in front of a client.

Betty however, looked impressed. She was still watching Lonnie walk away. "This is why I love this gym." She said dreamily.

"Funny, he's the reason I'm starting to hate it." Buttercup said, popping the weight onto the machine for her, looking peeved.

"You're not enjoying that attention?" Betty asked, and Buttercup shook her head.

"I'm taken. Happily taken. And he doesn't seem to understand that, and it's driving me insane." Buttercup complained, perching on a gym ball.

"I'm not surprised, a pretty young thing like you." Betty said warmly, and Buttercup rolled her eyes.

"I'm closer to 40 than you'd think." She replied.

"There's nothing wrong with that, age is just a number baby. Anyway, if you don't want the attention, I'll take a damn job around here, he's very easy on the eyes." Betty said, watching Lonnie lean over a young woman on a treadmill, the 25 pounder still tucked under his arm.

"You think?" Buttercup said, voice laced in boredom.

"You don't?"

"No way. He's not my type even if I was single. He's too, pretty, and mild. I like 'em rough around the edges." Buttercup explained, the jeering between the pair continuing. "Part man, part tank."

She giggled at her. "And your young man is rough around the edges? And part tank?" Betty asked, noticing the woman's face soften slightly as she thought of her boyfriend.

"No part of him is at all vanilla. He's a big green tank all right." Buttercup said. She too was looking out over the gym floor now. In the corner she could see Jason showing some new potential clients around the gym. She did a double take when she noticed Mitch stood amongst the handful of people, looking directly at her. Glaring at her.

Buttercup quickly put two and two together. Mitch had watched the whole exchange with Lonnie; him pressing himself against her flirtatiously. And by the scowl on his face he had clearly gotten the wrong end of the stick.

"Will you excuse me, just one minute?" Buttercup burbled, jumping up.

"Sure honey." Betty said as Buttercup sprinted across the floor to Mitch.

He was shaking his head at her in disgust as he broke away from the throng of people.

"Mitch, hey, uhh, that wasn't what it looked like back there -" Buttercup said, and he folded his arms across his chest.

"Is this just what you do? You get some weird pleasure out of cheating on people? Man oh man, I always thought it'd be Butch! I'd have put good money on him royally fucking things up between you both once again, honestly, I thought it was only a matter of time. I shoulda guessed that once a cheater always a cheater, huh?" He sneered at her.

"No!" She cried. "Will you listen to me?! This is stupid, he's just some cocksure kid with an over inflated ego, I'm not cheating on Butch!" She cried.

"Funny," Mitch scoffed. "He sounds just like your type to me."

Before Buttercup couldn't say another word, Mitch turned and left. She grabbed at her head in despair.

"Mitch! Mitch come on! What the fuck…" She muttered, turning and looking at Lonnie, still leant over the woman on the treadmill. The stupid tool had no idea what he'd just caused.


"Rosie stay with me, please." Brick hissed, as Rosalie hovered by his feet.

"Why are we at a gym?" She asked, peering about excitedly.

"I told you, we've come to see your Aunt Buttercup quickly." Brick said, looking around as he wandered through the cafe. "She should be here somewhere - Rosalie?"

When Brick looked back down, she was gone. He just happened to look up as her baby pink streak disappeared behind a closed door.

He growled frustratedly, stomping over and peeking inside. It was near impossible to get anything done when his daughter was in tow. Blossom repeatedly asked him who he thought she got it from. He'd always told her he had no idea.

Through the small window in the door, he could see it was a yoga class, and Buttercup was teaching it. She was sat at the top of the hall in her workout leggings and red racer vest with the gym's logo on it, standing in the Warrior pose, as was everyone else in the room; his daughter included, wobbling about in the back. He rolled his eyes, not being able to hold back a smirk.

Buttercup bent down into Downward-facing dog then, and he turned away and found a seat, not wanting to be greeted by not only Buttercup's ass, but the entire hall's asses too.

About 15 minutes later, people started leaving, their yoga mats tucked under their arms.

Buttercup and Rosalie were the last two to leave; Rosalie was in her aunt's arms, chatting animatedly when they did reappear.

"That was an unexpected surprise." Buttercup said, and Rosalie giggled. But when she glanced from her niece's innocent face to Brick's moody looking one, she frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"Uhh, yeah. Can we talk quick?" Brick said, and Buttercup nodded, looking back down at Rosalie and forcing a smile onto her face; she could tell Brick didn't want a catch up and a coffee. They weren't the bestest of friends as it was, much more civil in comparison to 6 or so years ago. But she knew he wouldn't have come to see her for no reason.

"Sure. Why don't we go down to the cafe? I can take my break a little earlier. You can play in the ball pit, Rosalie." Buttercup offered, and Rosalie's face lit up.

"Ball pit?!"

"Uh huh. And I'll get you a slushie. Make you nice and hyper for your Daddy." She suggested, much to Brick's chagrin.


"That girl could not be less like her mother." Buttercup said, watching Rosalie cannonball into the ball pit in the corner of the cafe, brightly coloured plastic balls going everywhere and hitting the other children with force.

"Actually, Blossom's always saying she reminds her of you." Brick commented, and Buttercup smirked.

"Well, she is my little middle name sake. Plus, that's what she gets for forever wishing she never had a daughter like me when we were kids. So, why are you here?" Buttercup said, turning back to Brick and watching him closely as he looked into his coffee cup.

"It's just about Blossom. I dunno if you've seen her much lately or, or noticed the way she's been, but she's been on a bit of a downward spiral as of late, and a couple of days ago I found out why." Brick said.

"I haven't seen that much of her. I figured she wouldn't have been in the greatest state of mind, after the feature in the paper. What's happened?" Buttercup asked, her expression souring at the mention of the Townsville Tribunal article.

"Jeremy is at the hospital." Brick said flatly, and Buttercup's light green eyes widened slightly.

"What? What he's sick or something?" The green puff questioned.

"No, his sister has kidney disease, he's been in every fucking day for about a month to visit her. But, that's not all he's been doing while he's been there. He's been," He paused, because just saying it made him want to trash the whole cafe in his anger.

"What?" Buttercup asked if impatiently, her voice having a rough edge.

"He's been fucking tormenting her!" Brick said through gritted teeth.

"How do you mean?" She asked darkly.

"She's declined so much lately because of him. She didn't tell us because she wanted to deal with it herself, but clearly it's not been working that way, and what with all the case potentially being dragged up again now, with the piece in the paper and all, he's just been screwing with her head. You'll have to ask her for more details, I can't, I'll break this table in two." Brick snarled, gripping it tightly.

Buttercup furrowed her brow angrily.

"But, that's where I need your help, and why I came to you. I want to go down there and make sure he never goes near her again. But, Blossom has asked me not to." The red ruff said, irritation clear in his voice. Buttercup furrowed her brow at him.

"So? Do it on one of her days off, she'll never know. He fucking deserves something! Especially as the police did fuck all." She cried, outraged for her sister having to go through all this.

"It's not that, it's something she said, I can't go against it." Brick muttered and Buttercup gave him a confused look.

"What did she say?" Buttercup said, her voice curious but more gentle.

"She said something about Jeremy acting violently to gain control by - by doing what he did to her, because she rejected him and didn't sleep with him when they dated. She said it wasn't just about sex, sex was the means to gain control, and violence was the intent, something like that. And if I then act violently, it's someone she loves behaving in the same way he did. I don't like the comparison." Brick murmured.

Buttercup's face looked pained, but she nodded slowly. "Fair enough."

"But this is where you come in. You could go down there. Just threaten him, maybe rough him up a little. I'd do it myself, or have one of my brothers go, but what with our records and reputation, if he squeals we'll go inside. I know it's a big ask, but I was just thinking that -" Brick began to explain but she interrupted.

"I'll do it." Buttercup said instantaneously.

"Yeah?" Brick asked, sounding relieved.

"Of course. If he goes to the cops over me, I'll get off. I have in the past, protector of the city and all that." Buttercup said, looking determined.

Brick nodded. "That was my thinking. I just want him to fucking know we're aware. I don't know who he thinks he is treating Blossom like this, but he's not getting away with it. If it weren't for Rosie and Blake he'd be fucking dead."

"Trust me I'm with you on that one. If I didn't have Jay and the girls to think about I'd have finished that fucker myself." Buttercup growled.

The sound of Rosalie squealing with delight filled the room, and when Brick and Buttercup glanced over at her, all the plastic balls in the ball pit were now rolling around the entire cafe. Buttercup smirked, looking over at Brick, who had his head in his hands.

"I better get her out of here before we have to clear all this up." He grumbled.


"Daddy! Daddy! Can we come back here again tomorrow? I love it here!" Rosalie asked, clinging to her Dad's arm as Buttercup walked the pair of them out to the foyer.

"Maybe. We'll see. Say Rosie, aren't you feeling like it's nappie time?" Brick asked, and she shook her head rapidly.

"NUH UH! I'm awake! Awake awake AWAKE! What are we gunna do now Daddy? Hmm? Hmm?" She replied spiritedly, hopping around him.

"Thanks for pumping her with E numbers." Brick said flatly, and Buttercup laughed.

"I'm her Aunt it's my job. Have fun with Daddy Rosie!" Buttercup cooed and Rosalie grinned excitedly.

Brick gave her an aggravated look, and put his hand up to wave as they turned to leave. Buttercup opened her mouth to say goodbye, but she never got to even start her sentence let alone complete it, she was distracted by Lonnie - once again appearing out of nowhere - and grabbing a handful of her ass as he passed her and headed over to reception as though he'd not done anything wholly inappropriate at all; it stunned her into a raged stupor.

Brick cranked an eyebrow at her, then looked around at the smarmy kid who'd done it.

"So, is that guy bothering you or you got something to tell me?" Brick asked, irate.

Buttercup shook her head. She had clouded over in anger. "I can't, I can't even - I'll kill him."

"Unwanted admirer?" Brick questioned, and Buttercup nodded.

"Extremely unwanted. I haven't told Butch cos I know he'll kill him. And I haven't dealt with him myself cos I kind of need this job to support my family." Buttercup snarled through gritted teeth.

"Let me, I don't work here. Come on Rosalie, say goodbye to your Aunt Buttercup." Brick said, his tone unchanged. Buttercup gave him a confused look as he turned away and Rosalie followed him, waving enthusiastically at her. She waved back slowly, still watching Brick for what he was going to do.

Brick sidled past Lonnie, taking his cell phone from his back pocket and dropping it onto the floor.

"Dude, you dropped your phone." He muttered, and Lonnie looked around with a startled expression, looking down at his phone on the ground.

"Oh, thanks man." Lonnie replied. As he reached down to get it, Brick booted him in the ass full pelt, and he landed straight on his face with a thump.

"Buttercup doesn't want you to touch her. Understand? Rosie, let's go." Brick said, before swiftly leaving the gym with his daughter.

Buttercup burst out laughing; Lonnie's astounded red face not looking like he knew what hit him.

Maybe Brick wasn't that bad after all.


"I'm so sorry." Bubbles said, putting a hand to her mouth. "I just keep throwing up. This part of being pregnant sucks."

"Well you will keep having babies." Buttercup said with a jovial sigh.

"Says the woman who still has more babies than me even when I've had this one." Bubbles pointed out, and Buttercup rolled her eyes.

"Yeah well, triplets suck too." The green puff replied sarcastically and Bubbles giggled.

The blonde patted her flat tummy. "I think this one will be our first boy. They say boys are easier to raise don't they?"

"Apparently so. I wouldn't pay much attention to that though. Blake is no trouble. Yet." Blossom said, smiling as her sister sat back down next to her on Buttercup's couch.

"God knows, all my kids are trouble, no matter the gender. I actually didn't get any sickness with the triplets. But, I did get triplets." Buttercup said, and her sisters laughed.

"I don't think I could actually hack triplets. I commend you, Rosalie alone is enough of a handful for me." Blossom said, looking over to their children, who were all playing in Buttercup's sun room, bar Jay, Blake and Bonnie, who were all at school.

"Oh I'd love triplets! They're so cute." Bubbles gushed.

"They're demons. Cute demons, but demons." Buttercup responded.

"Well you and Butch conceived triplets totally naturally, and I've not had a scan yet, so who knows?" Bubbles said, smiling sweetly.

"I'd be hoping it's just the one considering you have a 6 and 3 year old already." Buttercup said. As much as she joked, and as much as she hadn't exactly planned on having more children with Butch, she loved her girls to no end.

"Hey, where's Butch?" Bubbles asked, and Buttercup pointed upstairs.

"It's his nap time. Seems watching the kids full time is taking its toll on him." Buttercup said with a smug smile.

"He's wanting to stop already?!" Bubbles cried, and Buttercup shook her head.

"No signs of bowing out just yet, but today is his 'day off', even though it's technically my day off." Buttercup said, a little exasperated. "Big baby."

"He's doing better than I thought he would." Blossom said, sipping her tea.

"Is Brick at work today?" Bubbles questioned, and she nodded.

"Yeah, it's my day off too. Although, I wish I didn't have to go back in tomorrow." Blossom said, suddenly sullen. She'd manage to avoid Jeremy and Hayley since Hayley had figured it out and Jeremy had seen her post figuring out what he'd done. Ethan was now her doctor, she'd swapped him for his alcoholic hepatitis patient, who typically enough was a pigheaded tool, but she wasn't in a position to complain.

The few times she had seen him in the past couple of days he'd looked mad, but she'd gone in the opposite direction and managed to avoid him. She had no idea how Hayley was doing, she hadn't gone to see her and she hadn't even looked in on her room as she passed. She felt rotten about it, maybe she would face her soon; but if facing her meant facing Jeremy it wasn't something she was so keen on doing in a hurry.

She hadn't seen Sasha in a few days either, which kind of worried her. If she didn't see her at work the next day, she was going to drop her a line.

"What's up with work?" Bubbles said, sounding disappointed for her sister; she'd always loved being a doctor, no matter how much hard work it was.

Blossom sighed. "It's been a pretty rough place to be in at the moment. I mean I know it's a hospital, and stuff, and sad things happen there, but I've adapted to dealing with a lot of the sad things. You get strangely desensitised by it all, when you see it everyday. But, it's not working that way with this, in fact, it's making it worse -"

"Blossom! Spit it out." Buttercup said encouragingly.

"Right right, sorry. Well, I know I should have said something sooner, but basically Jeremy has been at the hospital every day for the past month, give or take." Blossom said, looking to them both for their reactions.

"What?!" Bubbles cried. "Jeremy? He's been… Why?"

"His sister is ill, she's a patient - or was a patient of mine. She has kidney disease." Blossom explained and Bubbles nodded, her brow knitted with worry. Buttercup looked more angry than upset, but she didn't look surprised. That was mostly because she already knew, Brick had told her. But she went along with Blossom just telling her now, she didn't want Blossom to find out Brick had come and proposed the idea of her warning him off.

"Oh." Bubbles said simply. "Has he been… Near you?"

"Yes. He has. When I first saw him I thought, surely he wouldn't have the audacity or the balls to come and talk to me but, he has done. He's been persecuting me a lot. And I've tried to cope with it alone, but I guess it's all gotten to me a little more than I thought it would." Blossom said quietly, and Bubbles frowned sadly.

"Why didn't you say something?" Bubbles squeaked.

"Yeah, you didn't need to go through it on your own - and for a month." Buttercup added.

"I know, I'm an idiot. I thought I could handle it. I didn't think he'd be like he has been. I thought he'd keep his distance. But the threat of having the life beaten out of him is no threat to him anymore it seems. He knows Brick, or any of us would get into trouble, and he knows I know he's not worth that. You all know that deep down." Blossom murmured, clearly annoyed with herself. "I couldn't live with myself if one of you went to prison for hurting or, or killing him. Also don't want any of you to end a life 'for me'."

"What has he been saying?" Bubbles asked in a small voice.

"He's angry. He blames me - I've ruined his life apparently." Blossom said, and Bubbles pulled a baffled expression.

"That's fucking rich. He hasn't witnessed half of what he did has done to you." Buttercup said fiercely.

"He doesn't really think he's done anything wrong. He says his life was turned upside down because of me and Brick and the boys threatening him and chasing him out of town. He listed all the things he's lost or missed out on, and thinking about it now just makes me want to laugh, because he doesn't know the half of it. He compares drugging and raping me to 'blackout wasted sex' - it's really not that big of a deal in his head." She had almost fallen into herself a little as she spoke. It made Bubbles want to burst into tears just looking at her right now. "He's angry. And he thinks he's in charge, and that he's calling the shots. But I don't know how much more of this I can take. Sometimes I feel braver when he speaks to me and other people are around. But, other times I just - I freeze. I check out. I can barely function. It's ridiculous."

"No it's not, Blossom." Bubbles said in a soothing voice. "It's a perfectly normal way to behave around someone who violated you like he did. Your brain is shutting off to protect you."

"I know, but it makes me feel so stupid and weak that I can let someone do that to me, you know?" Blossom had been fiddling with the buttons on her cardigan as she spoke. She let them go, cocking her head to the conservatory; Rosalie was still playing happily with her cousins. "But anyway, I told Brick, now I'm telling you two. And I've bumped Hayley, his sister, onto another doctor, so hopefully I'll see him less and less till she's out of there."

"Hopefully. Isn't there anything you can do? Go to the police, maybe? Get a restraining order on him?" Bubbles questioned, concern evident in her features. Blossom shrugged, thinking of Sasha and her going to the police.

"I don't know how much the cops can or will do now. It's not like he was prosecuted, served his time and has come out and began to harass me. He got away with it, remember? I've got zero proof he's been harassing me, because from the outside looking in he's not put a foot wrong. He's so sneaky and manipulative. Talking to all the nurses, making jokes, even trying to involve me in conversations so I look like the rude one when I ignore him or snap back. It'd be my word against his, again." Blossom said, her voice a little defeated.

"That was the biggest slap in the face if I ever did see one. After everything we've done for this city, they can't even bring you justice when you're wronged? Fucking joke." Buttercup spat angrily.

"Well, I know my case is closed and over with now, but there's potentially a possibility of another chance. I think. I don't know." Blossom said. She was going to tell them about Sasha but then began to back down. If she told them, they'd only coax her into talking to the police like Brick had done. She'd told him she would do but she still had second thoughts about it all.

"What second chance?" Buttercup asked interestedly.

Blossom sighed, deciding she would tell them about her anyway.

"After that article in the paper was printed, a young woman tracked me down. Her name is Sasha Wood. She's Michelle Wood's cousin, Bubbles, the one you worked with." Blossom began to explain, looking at her blonde sister briefly.

"Right…" She said, waiting for the redhead to elaborate.

"She tracked me down because she's also a victim of Jeremy's." Blossom said, and both her sisters' jaws dropped.

"No fucking way." Buttercup hissed.

"Oh my god! He, he raped Michelle's cousin?!" Bubbles gasped.

"It's practically the same story. Drugged her at the same club and took her back to someones place. She never reported it. She was only 22. She's 25 now, so it was 3 years ago, after me. Sasha read the article about me, and put two and two together, so hunted me down. She's going to the police, she wants me to back her up, to try and get him to do time for what he's done. She's hoping they'll reopen my case and we'll actually get some kind of justice. Although I don't know if it will make me feel any differently anyway." Blossom said, trying not to wilt as she spoke about it all.

"But Blossom it never hurts to try." Bubbles said gently.

"Yeah, if I were you I'd do everything I could to send that fucker away." Buttercup added in a snarl.

"That's the thing though Buttercup. You don't know how you'll feel until you've been through it. I used to think it could never happen to me. But now it feels like anything is possible. I don't want to bring it all up again. If I go back to the police, I'll have to talk about it again. And if it goes to trial, there'll be a judge, and a jury. I don't know if I could handle that. People trying to decide if I'm lying or telling the truth? If I think about all that scrutinisation I just think I'd rather leave it be." Blossom tried to explain.

"And leave him to continue drugging women?" Buttercup asked, and Blossom frowned.

"That shouldn't be on my back." Blossom mumbled, knowing Buttercup was right.

"When we were young girls, and we would moan and complain about having to go save the city rather than go to the park, or the school dance, or any other normal thing kids did that we missed out on because we were on patrol or fighting some monster, what was it you used to tell us?" Buttercup asked her sister, who covered her face in her hands briefly. "Blossom?"

"This is our responsibility and our duty - it's our life and sometimes life doesn't seem fair." Bubbles muttered, remembering too.

"Right. Don't go forgetting your own words Red." Buttercup said, and Blossom wilted.

"I'll think about it." She said quietly. "God, I've gotta stop doing this! Why am I such a self saboteur?! It's not normal to constantly sabotage your own mental health!"

"Oh come on, we all get in our own way every once in a while." Bubbles said, trying to reassure her sister.

"Yeah, just the other morning I was running late for work, and I had milk foam from my coffee on my top lip. I licked it off my lip like this," She licked her lip sensually to demonstrate. "Even though I knew Butch was watching and would jump me. I was like 30 minutes late for work."

"30 minutes?!" Bubbles cried as Blossom smiled with a roll of her eyes.

"Butch doesn't do things by halves." Buttercup said with a shrug.

"I guess I'm the only one here who wouldn't know that about him." Bubbles muttered, and Buttercup nearly choked on her coffee, having taken a sip at the wrong time.

"Bubbles!" Blossom cried, her cheeks almost matching her eyes.

"What, it's been like 7 years, we have to be able to laugh about it sometime soon!" Bubbles cried, but her sisters clearly didn't agree.

"Or we can just move this conversation along." Blossom mumbled as Buttercup finally managed to stop choking.

Almost as if there was a cue to go on, an ear splitting scream rang out from the sun room. Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup were there in a flash; even Butch had come down from the bedroom, looking sleepy and confused.

"What's going on?" He slurred.

"Is everyone okay?" Blossom cried.

"Spider!" Bridget squealed, recoiling in the air. "Spider spider spider! Eww eww eww! Get rid of it!"

Butch sighed. "I'm going back to bed."

"Aren't you gunna get rid of that thing?!" Buttercup yelled at her boyfriend's retreating back.

"It's a spider!" He replied as he ascended the stairs.

"Bridget you scared us!" Bubbles said, stroking her daughter's hair.

"The spider scared me! Get rid of it!" Bridget cried.

"Don't look at me." Buttercup said, standing behind Bubbles. She had always had a fear of spiders.

"Don't kill it!" Rosalie cried, bending down close to get a better look at the spider sat on the tiled floor. "Look at all it's eyes, and hairy legs! It's so cute and cool and ugly."

"Cute and ugly?" Blossom asked her daughter with a smirk.

"Rosie come away! It's icky!" Bridget wailed.

"I like him!" Rosalie said determinedly.

"Of course you do sweetie." Blossom said, not at all surprised by her daughter's bravery in the face of a large arachnid.

Before anyone could go get a cup to escort the spider outside with, a small hand came down on top of him with a thump and a squelch.

"Olive!" Rosalie cried in shock.

"Smush!" She hollered defiantly. "Smush smush!"

"Urgh, Olive, gross!" Buttercup cried, screwing her face up. "Come on, let's go clean up your hands."

"I smushed it." She told her mom proudly.

"You smushed it good baby." Buttercup agreed.

"He's gone." Rosalie mumbled, heartbroken.

"Honey, I'm, I'm sure it was a quick, painless death…" Blossom said, not really sure how to comfort her. It was only a spider after all.

"Thanks Olive. They're icky." Bridget said as Ivy began to poke the remaining spider legs on the floor.

"Sweetie don't touch them." Bubbles said, but she ignored her.

Blossom's cell phone began to ring from her bag in the lounge. She looked back at it quickly, then over to Rosalie.

"You gunna be okay Rosie?" She asked gently. Rosalie nodded.

"I'll be fine. Circle of life and all that." The pink puffruff muttered sadly.

Blossom smirked, turning back and retrieving her phone from her bag. It was an unknown number.

"Hello?" She asked inquisitively. "Yes, this is she."

Buttercup returned with a clean Olive and a wipe for the spider remains. She wiped up the spider goo, plonked Olive back down and then turned to Bubbles.

"Who's on the phone?" She mouthed.

"No idea." Bubbles shrugged. Bridget was finally good for her Mom to put her down again. Once the girls were happily playing in the sun room again, Bubbles and Buttercup rejoined their sister in the lounge.

"Mmhmm. Okay." Blossom said, clearly answering questions for the person down the line. "Yes, that is correct. Okay. Okay then. Thanks - okay. Goodbye." Blossom hung up her phone, staring at it for a few seconds after.

"Who was that?" Buttercup asked, as Blossom still looked at her phone blankly.

"Townsville Police Department. Sasha went to see them a couple of days ago. They want me to come down and see them next week. About my case." Blossom murmured.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Bubbles questioned, confused by Blossom's reaction.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is." She replied quietly.


r&r (: