Luke's head was still throbbing and he sent Ellie to find him some aspirin while he waited for Noah to fetch him.

Actually he also sent her so that he could be alone in his office for a few minutes. Well it wasn't really his office anymore, was it? Grimaldi shipping was sold! That was at least one less thing to worry about in his life, even though he was still on the GS payroll as a consultant to the new CEO. He didn't want to just up and leave his staff without making sure the new owners treated them fairly.

When they'd phoned in the morning to ask whether he could attend the meeting he'd been okay; better than he'd felt in a while; and he thought the meeting might help in some way. Keep his mind off things. But it was now blatantly obvious that he wasn't currently up for working.

He sighed with relief as he rested his head on his elbows and bent over his desk. He was glad Ellie had left. Her fussing was partly contributing to the throbbing pain. At moments like these… when his brain replayed that night over and over, relentlessly, whether he wanted it to or not, he needed quiet. He needed to close his eyes and drift into sleep…

...

"Nat… Nat!" Luke hooked his sister's arm to stop her from leaving.

He didn't know where she thought she would go… they didn't live near a bus stop and she would have to walk for miles to get anywhere.

"No! I'm going and you can't stop me!"

"Nat please! Why are you being this way? You always used to listen to me? I'm just trying to understand okay?"

"No, you're trying to boss me around! But you're not my father, Luke! And I don't have to do what you say!"

"No, you're right. I'm not your father, but I AM your older brother and Mom and Dad have trusted me and Noah to take care of you! What would I tell them if I allowed you to go out on your own and something happened to you?"

"Nothing's going to happen!" she moaned in the certainty of a teen completely naive to the real world.

"Would you at least tell me where you're so set on going?"

"Questions! Questions! That's all I get from you Luke! It's like you have to know everything about my life!"

"Yes, I do want to know Nat! If I knew then maybe I could understand what's going on in your crazy head! You are not going out and that is final! After what you pulled with my car you're lucky I haven't sent you home already! Now I don't want to hear another word about it!"

She eyed him steely but he didn't flinch and eventually she shouted, "FINE!" right in his face, before storming off to the guest room and slamming the door.

Poor little Nicholas had long since found solace in Luke and Noah's closet. He didn't often hide in there anymore, but he still had problems when there was any yelling in the house.

It was his bath time so Luke coaxed him out by letting him run the water and prepare the bath. A new novelty in his life… As Nicholas chatted away non-stop, Luke soaped him up and washed him down and then allowed him ten minutes to play with his plastic ships, before lifting him out, drying him off and carrying him, towel wrapped to his room.

Luke couldn't help but sigh when he passed the closed door of the guest bedroom.

"You won't ever give me this much trouble when you're thirteen, will you kid?" he asked Nicholas.

"Oh no! I'm a good boy, Noah says!"

Luke smiled at him, "Yes you are!" And he kissed him whilst using the towel to dry him off.

"Will you read me Peter Pan?" Nicholas begged as he lifted his arms to help Luke dress him.

"Yes baby." Luke was actually not in any mood to entertain Nicholas, but he was lucky… Nicholas drifted off before Luke had even finished the second page.

Luke felt remarkably tired. He spent some time having a relaxing and soothing shower, bringing his frustrations at Natalie's behaviour down to a minimum. He wondered whether he should call his mom for advice, but he didn't want to worry her. He threw on a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a red shirt and tried knocking on Natalie's door.

"Go away!"

He sighed once more and went back to the bedroom to lie down on the bed, thinking briefly that he should have dried his hair first. It was six PM.

...

"Luke?" Ellie was at a loss.

Luke sat frozen, staring ahead of him as though his soul had somehow left his body behind in the chair. His face was masked, hiding all thoughts. There was no sound coming from him. Not even that of breath. He looked like a ghost and it scared her.

"Luke?" She tried again, "I have the aspirin."

She placed the bottle on the table and poured him another glass of water from the jug on his desk. Her heart went out to her lovely boss who was so broken up over his little sister.

She was thankful that Noah was on his way. He'd know what to do.

...

Natalie Snyder had been in love with Josh Carmody for three whole years and during that period she had seen him just three times each year at summer camp.

The first time she saw him it was from a distance. He glided out of the mess hall and stood for a moment on the steps, basking in the sunlight, smiling with his two friends. He had a Hollywood smile with the whitest teeth she'd ever seen on anybody before; lightly-tanned skin that set off his blue eyes to perfection and a soft wave of brown hair.

Natalie had instantly felt the butterflies in her stomach. He winded her. He was the most perfect boy she had ever laid eyes on. There was not a single boy at camp that could hold a candle to the boy standing with confidence on that step.

For three days Natalie had devoured him with her eyes, burning his image into her memory so that she could dream of him when she eventually returned home to Oakdale. She told none of her friends about her feelings. They were her private thoughts and she kept them locked within her heart. Then on the fourth day of camp she was messing about with some friends on the wooden dock by the lake and she dropped her favourite necklace into the water.

"Oh no!" she cried, "My necklace!"

But before she could even get upset about it, the boy she'd been admiring from a distance dived elegantly into the water, not even making a splash, and retrieved her possession from the sandy floor of the lake. He broke through the surface of the water like a dolphin, like he'd been born swimming; and he effortlessly pulled himself up onto the dock, turning to sit with this feet dangling in the water. Droplets were running down his cheeks and clung to his hair and skin, making him shine like some kind of aqua knight.

She was besotted.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed as he lifted up his hand so that she could take her necklace from him. She felt his finger brush hers and a warmth spread up her cheeks.

"No worries!" he smiled, dashingly at her.

"Um, I'm Natalie…"

"Josh! Pleased to meet you Natalie!"

Josh! What a beautiful name! And his voice… Wow!

From that moment on Natalie and Josh were inseparable. They would explore the camp together; team up with each other in the social games; eat together. They would talk for hours, even sneaking out past curfew to find a quiet spot in the woods or by the lake. She was ten years old and he was thirteen, but the age difference didn't seem to matter and the two of them became fast friends.

Natalie was devastated when camp ended, but she was happy when Josh kept in touch with her throughout the rest of the year, sending her regular e-mails about his life in Los Angeles. It seemed so glamorous and exciting… and she always felt like such a loser when all she could describe in return was the same old same of Oakdale.

The following year she was eleven and much, much older and more sophisticated than she was at ten, she thought. And she felt sure that Josh would see her as potential girlfriend material. She spent ages preparing for summer camp. She had her mom take her shopping for new clothes in an effort to try and look beautiful for him, praying that he would notice her as a girl rather than just as a friend.

But that summer camp passed as before. The two of them spent every moment together, but no matter where she placed herself within his periphery, Josh made no attempt to hold her hand or kiss her or anything. Although she was disappointed, it didn't stop her from having another awesome time with him, and she was once again left glum at the end of the adventure when it was time to part.

The following year she was twelve and even older and far more grown up! But it seemed that the older she got the more he started to treat her as a child. He was fifteen by this stage and spent a lot more of that summer with his friends. He would still hang with Natalie. He would still partner with her in games and walk with her in the woods. He seemed to enjoy her conversation, but Natalie definitely noticed his desire to spend more time apart.

So now she had just sat for half an hour staring blurry eyed at the computer screen reading and re-reading Josh's e-mail to say he wouldn't be at summer camp that year. And she was THIRTEEN! So it was definitely her year! He would definitely have noticed her and seen her for the woman she was becoming. And now? Now he wouldn't be there? She was devastated! There was no point in even going to summer camp if Josh wasn't there!

And already she was formulating a plan! She quickly searched an online map for the location of his address. It was only two suburbs away from Luke and Noah's house.

Her plan would enable her to see Josh in just a few weeks time!

...

Day one of Natalie's arrival in LA had been nothing short of perfect. They collected the excited and bubbly girl from the airport, Nicholas dominating the conversation with questions about Ethan.

"Did Ethan come too?"

"Where's Ethan?"

"What's Ethan doing?"

He seemed happy to accept Natalie as a temporary substitute, but made sure to let them know that the lack of Ethan wasn't exactly what he had in mind then they mentioned a family visit. Luke and Noah could only smile at each other.

Natalie seemed extremely happy to be there. Whenever Nicholas gave her the chance, she chatted amicably with them about school and her friends and caught them up on the general goings on in Oakdale.

"Oh and I think Dad's planning to move back into the house!"

"Really?" Asked Luke as he came to a stop at a red light. "Why's that?"

"Oh… you know! It's those little things he does like… the other day he mentioned repainting the hall. And then he wanted to install a new kitchen!"

Luke laughed, "Yip! It does sound like he's nesting doesn't it?"

"Or maybe he's just trying to do something nice for your mom?" Noah suggested, not wanting the two of them to get their hopes up only to have them smashed once again, when their parent's romance didn't go to their timetable.

"You're such a pessimist!" teased Luke. "Anyway, it doesn't really matter what they do, hey Nat? So long as they are both happy."

"Yes." She agreed. "And they definitely are!"

She was also very excited about the engagement and laid out a number of ideas she'd had since the moment they'd sat the family down and told them all the good news. Lilly had screamed and then cried. Holden smiled that soft smile of his and shook both their hands. Emma teared up and rewarded each boy with a kiss on both cheeks. The girls were the most excited. They begged to help in the preparations.

Now Luke could only laugh at Natalie as she railed off the numerous thoughts she'd had.

"Nat!" Noah reminded, "We haven't even set a date yet! We really aren't in any kind of hurry, but as soon as we do, we'll let you know, okay?"

"Yeah! Okay! But do you like any of my ideas!"

Both men laughed out loud at her gusto.

After a quick lunch at home to drop off her bags, they'd taken Natalie and Ethan into the city to explore some of the Hollywood tourist attractions… Universal Studios, The Walk of Fame, Sunset Boulevard.

Natalie was spellbound by LA but especially by its people. She stared at and studied almost every person they past, as though she'd never seen such beautiful and fascinating creatures in her life. She would stop to talk to anybody who was willing to give her the time of day, and she didn't seem to care who they were. She'd speak to a homeless guy in a doorway just as quick as she's try to speak to some snooty Beverly Hills type. She didn't care! It was the company she enjoyed.

Of course they ended their tour at the beach, playing games on the pier and going on the fairground rides. Well, Luke and Natalie rode them. Noah was content to stay on terra firma with Nicholas eating cotton candy and laughing at the looks on Luke and Natalie's faces.

They spent the whole day and evening laughing and joking together, generally just having fun.

So it wasn't until the second day of Natalie's visit that the trouble started...

Natalie, a free spirit, used to floating around Oakdale as her fancy and whim took her, was quickly brought down to earth, when she discovered her older brother had no intention of giving her the same freedoms in LA.

At first she started with light hearted begging, obviously sure she would sweet talk Luke and Noah into giving her what she wanted but by day four she was livid with indignation.

...

"It's not fair!" Natalie yelled as they were gathered in the lounge.

"This isn't Oakdale, Nat! You're not used to big cities and there is absolutely no way you are going out there alone! Forget it!" Luke yelled back. He was at the end of his tether with her.

"I'm not a baby anymore Luke! I can take care of myself!"

"You're not an adult either. Look Natalie, I'm sorry, if there is someplace you would like to visit, Noah and I will gladly take you there, but we will be with you and that is final!"

"I can't believe you!" she spat, "All those times you moaned about Dad not giving you any freedom and now look! You turn around and do the same thing to me! You're worse than Dad and I HATE you!"

She stormed outside, slamming the front door so that the walls shook.

Luke reopened the door after her and yelled, "Yeah? Well I'm glad you think I'm like Dad! Because he was right!" before slamming the door closed again and yelling, "Urg!"

Noah, who had sat watching this exchange from the couch couldn't stop himself from chuckling.

Oh!" Luke responded to him, "I'm glad you think this is so funny!"

"I'm sorry! It's just she's so damn stubborn and determined. She reminds me of a miniature version of the old you! It's kinda cute!"

"You better watch it mister or I'll march right over there to give you a hiding!"

"Ooh is that a promise?" he smiled and winked suggestively, eliciting a grin from Luke.

But the grin quickly fell when they heard the unmistakable sound of his car starting in the garage.

"She wouldn't!" Luke exclaimed.

They heard the car back fast down the drive.

"Oh! I think she has!"

Noah shot up out the couch and followed Luke who was already on route through the door.

They ran outside just in time to see the car make it halfway down the road before it shot forwards and rammed right into a streetlamp, coming to an abrupt stop.