Author Note:

Thank you for all your reviews guys.

And thanks to Emily (pussycatwithattitude) for proof reading this for me. If you haven't already guys, you should check out her Rob/Karen fic 'Flesh Not Stone' because it is amazing ^_^

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Please read and review :)

Leanne xx

Disclaimer: I don't own Waterloo Road (:

Part Six

"What the –" Rob swore loudly, shaking with the effort it took to control his anger. For a minute it seemed he wasn't aware of Karen's presence as he paced the floor, engaged in a battle with memories he'd fought to repress for so long. His body was rigid, and his hands had involuntarily balled into fists, as he struggled to stop himself going after Charlie.

"Rob," Karen spoke quietly, feeling a chill run down her spine at the unmistakable rage, lining his features. His demeanour was as far from that of the mild mannered janitor she knew, and it scared her. He ignored her and continued pacing, "I could bloody kill him for what he's done to you!"

"Rob, please- getting angry doesn't solve anything; it's as good as stooping to his level." Her soft Irish lilt seemed to calm him, and he stopped walking, breathing heavily. The haunted look disappeared from his expression, being replaced with one of cold fury. Karen wasn't sure which one she hated to see more. "You need to calm down."

Heavily, Rob went and sat down on the edge of the sofa, his head resting in his hands. "I'm sorry you had to witness that," Karen continued apologetically into the silence. "Me and Charlie," She added awkwardly, more to fill the silence than anything as there wasn't any doubt as to what she was referring to.

He finally looked up at her, "It's not your fault," He answered hollowly, bringing tears to her eyes. "Don't you ever apologise, for anything; none of what's that – that animal has done to you is your fault." She turned away from him guiltily, unable to bear the understanding in his expression when all she wanted was to contradict him. To tell him that everything was entirely her fault. She'd unintentionally wound Charlie up, practically forced him to lose his temper with her… "He's exactly what I expected him to be like." Rob continued, drawing her mind back to the conversation at hand. Karen looked at him curiously so he explained, "You know? Big, burly –"

"Handy with his fists," Karen interrupted wryly. "You may not believe me but he wasn't always like this," She wasn't sure why she was defending him, and wasn't even altogether convinced of that herself anymore. But Rob seemed to understand.

"I do believe you," He assured her, "People change Karen, sometimes for the better but sometimes for the worse. Sometimes it becomes impossible to recognise the person they were for who they've become." She couldn't deny that he was right; because things with Charlie had escalated so much that she couldn't remember there ever being good times.

"I can remember the first time he ever hit me," Karen admitted. It seemed like a bit of a random tangent for the conversation to go in, but Rob let it slide because he knew it meant she was opening up to him. "It would have been about a year after we got married, Charlie was staying later at work and going out every other night. There was this woman who kept leaving messages for him, I accused him of having an affair, and he slapped me."

Her eyes misted over at the memory of her naïve younger self. "Do you know what the silliest thing is?" She asked Rob. He shook his head, knowing she was about to tell him anyway. "I always said that I'd never stay with anyone who didn't respect me. Looking back on it, I can't believe it came down to this." She finished, lines of anguish etched on her face. "He just – he seemed so shocked at what he'd done. He seemed sorry." The last three words came out barely more than a whisper.

"It's not your fault," Rob said automatically, reaching out to comfort her. Karen pulled away from him. "Do you want to talk about what happened before I came in?" He asked gently. "Did he hurt you?"

Wincing Karen rolled back her sleeve to examine the damage, revealing a new set of marks on her arm. "It could have been worse," She said bravely, and Rob didn't know which was worse: the matter of fact tone in which she said it, or that her words were the truth. "I gave Jess permission for Vicki to stay tonight," She explained. "Usually it's Charlie who makes all the decisions in our house."

"Ah," Rob started, "I can see why that might have been slightly problematic," The corners of his lips turned up a fraction, even though there was nothing remotely funny about the situation. Karen gave him a tight smile in return, trying to hold back the tears that constantly threatened her vision. "What are you going to do tonight?" He asked when she didn't speak.

Rob didn't say so, but Karen knew by the fact that he'd even asked the question that he'd picked up on Charlie's closing threat. "The same as usual," She said casually not meeting his eyes, and continuing before he could speak. "Charlie's not stupid; he knows it's more than his life's worth to try anything while Vicki's there." She waited for the barrage of objections that were sure to come.

"What about tomorrow night?" Rob continued to press her, because he knew he couldn't take no for an answer anymore. Something needed to be done about the situation and if she wasn't ready to do anything about it, he'd have to.

"Hopefully by then he'll have calmed down," Karen replied, moving over to her desk and shuffling the papers there so she wasn't looking at him.

"You can't rely on chance!" Rob said exasperatedly, "Before today I bet you wouldn't have expected him to corner you in school." He leaned forward and gently tilted her head up, forcing her to look at him and seeing he'd hit the nail on the head. "Karen you need to start thinking of yourself.

Karen felt herself becoming choked up at his concern. "Rob we've had this discussion too many times to count –"

"So you'd have thought you'd started listening to me by now," He said unusually seriously. "I knew a man like him once; the slightest thing would tip him over the edge. Charlie's already angry, who knows what he'll do next?"

Karen knew as well as Rob did that he was right, and if she looked at him he'd see that. "It's you who isn't listening to me," She said stubbornly, her words masking a multitude of emotions.

Rob wasn't fooled. He could see the fear behind her eyes as she thought of the prospect of going home, but every time he proposed a solution the brick wall came back up and it frustrated him because he had no idea how to break it down again.

"Then take this," He fumbled for a second with a key ring before managing to get one of the keys off. He placed it in the palm of her hand, and she looked at him in confusion. He put the keys away in his pocket before explaining. "This is my spare front door key." She still didn't seem sure so he continued to speak, "I want you to know that I'm there if you need me… that there's always somewhere you can go if things get too much for you."

"I can't," Karen answered quietly, tears glistening in her eyes at the extent of his kindness. "It wouldn't be right – what about Aiden?"

Rob sighed, not expecting her to concede without an argument. "Yes you can," He said gently, propelling her to sit on the sofa before joining her. "You need to know you always have a way out when you're ready to take it." It seemed that he knew without her even having to say anything. "And it's for my peace of mind as much as your safety." He added, realising that as he spoke that it was the truth; he couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to her, especially if he'd known and done nothing. "As for Aiden, that's not your problem." Rob finished.

"I shouldn't be your problem," Karen pointed out, embarrassedly training her eyes on the floor. "I'm –"

Rob cut her off before she could finish speaking, "If the next word that comes out of your mouth is sorry, then don't bother." He said, a hint of a smile in his words. Karen blushed at his assumption, but she didn't say anything. "I want to help you Karen. You don't have to do it on your own anymore." She still didn't look convinced. "This has happened before," He said quietly, swallowing the lump that had begun to form in his throat. Karen opened her mouth to speak but he knew if he let her, he wouldn't be able to continue talking. "I can't tell you about it at the moment; I just need you to understand…" He implored. She nodded silently. "I couldn't do anything about it before, but this time I can."

Karen's mouth dropped open slightly, and for a minute she just stared at him. He didn't break her gaze, and she pretended not to notice the wetness around his eyes, silently putting his house key in her pocket.

Rob didn't go straight home that night. With a heavy heart he drove to a little village just outside of Rochdale, parked his car by the duck pond and walked ten minutes down the lane until he came to a small church. He'd never been remotely religious before but oddly enough it seemed like the most appropriate place to be.

His parents had married in that church. He'd been baptized there, and his mother had been buried in the cemetery that lay in the fields beyond. Rob made his way to the front of the church where there was hundreds of flickering tea lights. He knelt down and carefully lit two, watching for the longest time as the wax melted. His cheeks were damp from the tears he couldn't prevent from falling.

Standing back up and exiting through a side door, he fought his way through the overgrown trees, through a rotting wooden gate which led him into the small cemetery. Through the rows of grey headstones he came to a standstill in front of one made out black marble.

In loving memory of

Eleanor-May Scotcher

21st January 1942 – 8th June 1976

Aged 32

'A beloved wife, a loving mother and a much loved daughter

Sadly missed always.'

"Hello Mum," Rob said quietly, bending down and beginning to take the dead leaves off the flowers, trying to ignore the overwhelming anger bubbling so close to the surface.