Author: Miss Peg

Warnings: Lots of swearing and a bit of violence.

Disclaimer: I don't own Skins...ah well.

Summary: When Cook gets out of prison having served time for absconding, he moves in with Naomi, Emily and Gina. After the death of his mother, Cook is faced with questions about his past. With Naomi's help, they go on an emotional journey which results in a revelation that could change both of their lives.

Notes: Written for the Skins Big Bang on LiveJournal. I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to finish updating this. I guess I've been a bit disheartened because I worked so hard on it and only a few people seem to have given any feedback. I've also had some personal problems which are really affecting my writing, I hope that will change in 2012. I hope everyone's had a Merry Christmas and since I doubt anything will be posted until 2012 (and even then it'll mostly be The Mentalist related as I co-hosted/took part in their Big Bang which took a lot of effort) a very Happy New Year as well.

Part Nine

They woke to loud banging coming from the floor below, the front door, Naomi guessed. She couldn't wake quickly enough as the banging continued, until an almighty smash of the front door followed and a ruckus downstairs. Emily moved to get dressed beside her but Naomi moved slower, her heart racing as she pictured all sorts of horrible events following.

'Police!'

Naomi pulled on her clothes from the night before, urgently, the warning from the police downstairs told her they'd probably check every room. Not the first time they'd turned up at the house, only this time she could see no reason for their visit. Emily reached out for Naomi's hand, which she linked with her own, a small piece of stability in a mess of confusion. She tugged her out of the bedroom and towards the stairs at the same time two officers in uniform reached the top.

'Where is he?' one shouted in their faces, uncaring for the distraught look they shared.

'I'm 'ere.'

The bedroom door across the hall opened slowly, cautiously and Cook edged out of his room, wearing his boxers and a pair of socks. He scratched the back of his head and held both hands up against it. He didn't know why they were there, could never be sure of the reason where the police were concerned. But he knew it must be serious by the disgusted look in their eyes as they took hold of him, cuffing his wrists together with little care or attention.

'James Cook, I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Doctor John Foster. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be used as evidence. Do you understand?'

The part of Cook's throat which moved in order to talk ceased action, he opened and closed his mouth, but to no avail. He'd been expecting this, deep down; he knew that one day it would probably happen. That didn't stop the shock of it happening now, today.

'Do you fucking understand?' one of the officers asked, kicking his knees, not hard enough to cause damage but enough to knock him down.

'Yes,' he gasped, closing his eyes, anything to block out the image of Naomi and Emily stood watching the furore.

'I'll get some clothes,' said one of the officers, disappearing into Cook's bedroom.

The other officer guided him towards the stairs, which they took one step at a time, moving at a pace worse than stopped. He caught Gina's eyes as she stood at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes darting about in her head with as much pain and suffering as he would expect of a mother. A mother who loved him. Not like Ruth, who had only ever looked at him with contempt. He choked back tears, trying his best to maintain a level of calm. Anything to avoid the taunting he would receive from the police if he were to fall apart. Nothing prepared him for Gina's tears as the police moved him away.

'I can't believe this is happening,' said Naomi, following Cook down the stairs with Emily close by.

Emily wrapped her free arm around Gina, despite her shaking beside her. She held on tightly to Naomi's hand. She wanted to cry too, but someone had to be strong and Naomi's eyes had already begun to flood.

'They said he killed Foster,' Emily muttered, finding the whole situation incomprehensible. It couldn't be true, he wouldn't do that. Cook was an angry person, had beaten someone to a pulp and that was why he went to prison. But he wasn't capable of murder.

'They're fucking lying,' Naomi snapped, pacing down the hallway and watching the police car drive away. The blue lights had become a painful reminder that Cook was not invincible and no matter how hard he splashed about, people couldn't behave that way without getting caught.

A phone rang loudly upstairs, Emily rubbed Gina's back and took the stairs two at a time to retrieve her mobile. When she returned to the stairs her face had turned a pale shade of white and tears rested on her cheeks. Naomi furrowed her brow and walked over, waiting patiently for her conversation to end.

'That was Katie,' she whispered, her voice tiny and useless against the backdrop of a ticking clock and a tap in the kitchen dripping. 'They found Foster, dead. Then when they searched his house.'

Naomi filled the gap between them, her arms reached out around Emily's hips, watching Emily's features as she carefully retold the conversation she'd had with her sister on the phone.

'They're not sure but they think Foster killed Freddie,' Emily paused; she had too much saliva in her mouth and felt sick. 'They think Cook killed Foster because of it.'

'No,' Gina said, her voice more of a scream as she ran out of the room, her wails the only thing left as she closed her bedroom door behind her.

In that moment, as Gina's cries could be heard throughout the house, Emily reached her arms out to Naomi whose legs gave way. She guided her to the floor where they sat, silently. They took every second as it came, each breath significant in the task of staying alive. How could Cook kill anyone? She couldn't understand any of it. She pawed at her cheeks and rested her head against Emily's shoulder as they sat together, contemplating their reality. Freddie had disappeared, that much had been clear, but murdered? By someone they had all trusted to take care of Effy? And now Cook was being arrested for his murder. She shook her head, adamant that whatever evidence they had would be false. She pushed Emily away and jumped to her feet, taking her jacket off the banister before running out of the front door.

xxx

The world pulled Emily in too many directions, none of which she wanted to follow. Naomi had gone and though she wished to be by her side, for her own sake as well as Naomi's, she knew her girlfriend well enough to give her space. Then Katie's cries on the other end of phone dragged her heart in the direction of home, her real home, the home belonging to her family. She missed them and though she visited often, she missed feeling like a part of them. Not the weird outsider she had become. But the biggest tug on her heart strings was the loud, broken-hearted sobbing coming from another room. How could she leave Gina now? The woman who had given her a home, supported her, loved her like a daughter, she couldn't abandon her. Even if what she really wanted was to be alone, to grieve for her lost friends.

She hesitated by the door, wondering how much support Gina actually needed and whether she was the right person for the job. She contemplated calling a doctor but instead opened the door and tentatively walked inside.

'Gina?'

She turned on her bed, lifted her head up to Emily with a weak smile, but her eyes were swollen and her nose ran heavily upon her top lip. She looked worse than Emily felt. Emily walked over and sat beside her, pulling her into her arms where they sat for a while. She didn't know what to do for the best, so didn't do anything as Gina clung to her sobbing.

'He's your son,' Emily whispered finally, her tone apologetic and sad.

'How,' Gina began but her voice trailed away with more tears.

'He knows Gina,' Emily told her. 'He found out for himself.'

'Oh.'

'I don't think he could have asked for a better mum,' she smiled, wiping at her cheeks as Gina had done on many occasions. 'I sometimes wish you were mine.'

'Thank you.'

'How long have you known?'

'Not long.'

'Really?'

It surprised Emily that Gina hadn't realised before, that the friend her daughter had brought home was the child she'd given up long ago. But people change, they look different once they've grown.

'When I first met him he made me think of his dad, but I thought it was a coincidence. I didn't know until he started asking questions about his real parents and then Sam called me.'

'Naomi's dad?'

'Yes,' Gina looked around the room, her eyes fixed on the open doorway. She was thankful to Emily for helping her through the hardest part of the shock. How does one deal with the news that their son has been arrested for murder? But what she worried about the most, in that moment, was Naomi. 'Is she here?'

'No, she left; I don't know where she went.'

'Does she know?' Gina questioned, the sheer thought of Naomi finding out the truth was a weight on her heart that she couldn't bear to carry. Her daughter had always come first and though James mattered, a part of her would always think of the child she brought up.

'No. I wouldn't tell her. I promised. I don't know what James will do though, he wants her to know.'

'I can't lose her Emily; I can't lose both of them.'

xxx

The police station had never felt a more frightening place as it had on that morning. As Naomi stood in the entrance, a man dragged a teenage boy inside shouting at him for an arson attack. Of course Naomi knew things happened, she'd seen her fair share of criminal action and had even participated a little. But even she hadn't expected the sheer level of activity that went on at just one of the city stations.

'Can I see him yet?' she asked the duty sergeant as she walked through to the hub of the station.

'Miss Campbell, there are more crimes in Bristol than your friend's; I don't have time to be chasing up on the progress of his arrest.'

'Please,' Naomi begged, taking hold of the woman's upper arm.

'If you don't let go of me right now Miss, I'll arrest you for obstructing police investigation. Now sit down and someone will come to you if you are allowed to see Mr Cook.'

'But,' Naomi tried, her heart racing anxiously.

The sergeant looked at her with steely eyes, her attention never wavering as Naomi tried to hold her gaze. But the woman stared at her adamantly. Naomi returned to the plastic chairs by the wall, not the least bit comfortable for long periods of time, but better than nothing.

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, despite it only being an hour, the duty sergeant informed her, as she passed through the building, that she would be allowed to have a brief visit with Cook before he was transferred to the local remand centre.

'Remand centre?' she frowned. 'I thought you had to question him before that.'

'We have questioned him and he's been very helpful.'

'So you're charging him based on probably flimsy evidence?' Naomi rolled her eyes and tried to remember everything she knew about police work from the few television shows she'd seen. She didn't think affairs in the sergeant's office would be very helpful, but as she looked the plump older lady up and down, the very idea of her having a steamy affair with an attractive younger staff member made her chuckle.

'Everyone thinks they understand the law because they've seen a few episodes of The Bill,' the sergeant uttered. 'Your friend told us everything, he's admitted his guilt, there's nothing more we can do until he gets a hearing.'

'Guilty?' Naomi asked, her throat constricting with the onset of tears, which hung as a lump in the back of her throat. She wanted to cry, but in order to get any more information out of the woman; she needed to remain stable.

'I'm very busy Miss Campbell, as much as I'd love to give your homicidal friend all of my attention, I have a job to do,' she laughed, sarcastically. Naomi scowled as she walked away. Fucking useless. Call them a public service; she couldn't see any service in the job role. And Cook wasn't a murderer, he couldn't be.

xxx

'What the fuck is this about you pleading guilty?' Naomi asked as soon as she was allowed to enter the room to see Cook. He looked tired, the bags under his eyes had grown in size she last saw him. It was good to see him though.

'I did it Naomi, I smashed his fucking face in and I'd do it again if the situation was repeated. Nobody touches my fucking friends, you understand that, don't you Naomikins? If anyone touched Emily.'

Her stomach twisted in knots and the slow moving cloud lingering over her earlier that morning, had returned with full force.

'You did it?' she asked, her hands shaking on the table in front of her.

'Don't look so fucking surprised Naomi; you know what I'm capable of.'

'But,' she tried but lost the will to speak as Cook interrupted her.

'Ain't no one gonna change me, we both know that. Not like I were gonna tell you what I'd done, is it? I'm fucked 'til the day I die.'

'James.'

Naomi rested her right hand over her mouth and covered it with her left. She shook her head and stared into his eyes, the eyes of a killer, the eyes of her best friend. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but it lodged itself there, until she began choking on tears.

'Only difference now,' Cook looked at her dolefully. 'Is I have people I love, people I would take it all back to be able to be happy with.'

'I wish you didn't do that,' she cried, reaching out to his hand which she held tightly. 'I wish, I wish you wouldn't have told them.'

'No point lying anymore Naomikins,' Cook replied, squeezing her hand, giving her back some of the comfort she was giving him. 'Keeping secrets. If I want to make my mum proud of me, it's gotta be 'cause I owed up to my mistakes.'

'Your mum? You found her?'

'Guess she still didn't tell you yet.'

'Who?' Naomi frowned.

'Thing is Naomikins,' Cook stared at the table between them, at her other hand as it sat beside his, hands that actually weren't that fucking different to his own, now that he thought about it. 'It kind of makes us brother and sister.'

'I don't understand.'

She couldn't have been hearing him right; there must have been a problem. He'd gone crazy, a couple of hours in the police station and he'd lost the plot already. Why else would he be saying things like that?

'Your mum and Uncle Sam, only he's not my uncle and I'm pretty sure he's not yours either.'

Naomi dropped Cook's hand upon the table and pushed her chair away, the whole world had begun spinning and her stomach churned with sickness. This was some big fucking joke. First Cook's uncle was her dad, then Cook had been arrested for murder, now he was saying they were brother and sister. She couldn't accept that, none of it, it was all a fucking sick joke that someone was playing. There'd be a camera somewhere, watching her, that fucking Ashton Kutcher show. It had to be. There was no other explanation. Except, Gina had reacted badly to Cook's arrest and she'd taken him in like a son, she'd treated him like a prince, not an ex-con.

I hope you enjoyed it, please review :)