Author note: The glorious weather is to thank for this chapter being posted now, the sixth form is shut due to heavy snow fall and in addition to almost the whole town being at a standstill and/or hiding in their homes until the snow melts I have been given the time to get this chapter done and been left time to revise for my exams as well! Good times. Here it is, chapter nine, I hope that you like it. :)

Chapter nine

Hudson Farm

It was about one o'clock in the morning when George and I returned to the farm; John had dropped us both off last after everyone else, since we were the last stop on the route and was now on his way back home. We were shattered and about ready to just collapse on our beds and sleep, trekking through the woods would do that to you, after we found Louise we had taken her to Joe and Jess's house, their parents weren't in and Joe and Jess looked like they were ready to head out themselves since they were both donning coats as we knocked on the door. Whatever plans they had made they cancelled to stay and hear us out, despite this kindness however I found that I couldn't help but think about our imposters and wonder if they had been on their way to meet them now so that they could divulge our secrets, it was shameful to even think it but I honestly couldn't help it. From the looks on the others faces, I could tell that they were thinking the same as me. Anyway, we managed to push aside our faithless suspicions and get on with the task at hand, Jess and Joe were just as sympathetic as to Louise's predicament as I had hoped (remembered) they would be and they had been willing to let her stay in their lost conversion until things sorted themselves out and she had finished her grieving.

Unlike Eloise in the past, Louise had avoided being seen with Outlaws and therefore didn't have to go into hiding, she was staying with the Anderson's (Joe and Jess and their family) until she got enough money together to be able to rent somewhere without her dad, she worked as a hairdresser and had to end lease on the house she was renting with her dad, and also she stayed with them so that she could grieve properly without having to worry. Jess said that her parents and grandma (Beatrice) would not mind Eloise staying with them, however they would not be getting back until later and Eloise had best just go to bed and speak to them in the morning. Joe had showed her to her room and Eloise had called Joey, despite the time, and told him what had happened, she made good of her word and didn't tell him about who I was and I appreciated that. Something about what Jess had said stuck with me long after we had said goodbye and John was dropping us all off though, she had mentioned that her parents were going to be out late, and also from the looks of things both of them were going out as well even though it had been quarter to midnight when we called. I couldn't help but wonder not only about our imposters, but also about where my parents had been disappearing off to and if Jess and Joe's parents were sneaking off to the same place. I made a mental note to ask them about it, preferably after all the stuff with the imposters was sorted out and we had settled our suspicions.

And so, a absolutely exhausted George and I unlocked the front door, I was pleased to see that the small family car was still in the driveway meaning that everyone was in, and snuck in as quietly as we could so as not to wake anyone up. Approaching to creaking stairs with caution we crept upstairs without so much as a sound, George came to a stop in front of my bedroom door and turned to face me. Once again George looked a vision, his blond hair ruffled from wearing his hood and his blue eyes managing to catch whatever light there was in the darkened corridor making them glitter, he smiled down at me tiredly before opening his arms for me to step into. I moved without a word, wrapping my arms around his waist and laying my head against his chest, I sighed in contentment when his arms wrapped around me, gently holding me to him.

"What's wrong Robin?" he whispered in my ear as he pressed his cheek against my hair and held me tight, the motion was comforting "you've looked worried all day, for weeks really, and you keep looking at me like you expect me to disappear."

"Cant I look at my boyfriend anymore?" I asked him, I was going for a snappy tone, I was going to start an argument but I just couldn't, my words came out like a pained whimper instead, shocking me immensely.

George shook his head, his lips still right by my ear as he breathed "no, not with such a look of sorrow on your face."

"Says the guy that was so convinced earlier that I was going to tell him I was going to leave him, I saw you this morning George, you honestly believed that I would." I whispered in reply, not answering any of his questions and steering the topic off of me, I didn't want to talk about it now; odds are I'd brake down and tell him everything.

I felt George flinch at my words and instantly regretted them, however George then let out a shaky laugh and pulled away from me so that he could look down at me as he said "I guess I still cant believe my luck." He then raised his right hand to cup the side of my face and looked at me with so much love that my heart honestly felt like it had stopped beating.

I snorted "You're not the lucky one, you've got to put up with me and my moods," see I can admit it "besides, I'm nothing special, you are however, so I fail to see how you can feel insecure about me leaving you. There's no chance of that happening." I told him, meaning every word and trying to make him feel one hundred percent secure in the fact that I loved him and that I wasn't going anywhere, I didn't want him riddled with doubts, especially if my dreams and what happened in the past hold any truth.

George chucked and pulled me to him again, hugging me tightly "Your moods are part of why I love you so much." He laughed and I pulled away long enough to throw him an appalled look and say,

"Thanks, don't bother trying to deny it or tell me that I'm not moody or anything, cheers for that." he then pulled me back towards him, still chuckling, I went willingly and wrapped my arms around him, matching the tightness of his grip.

"You know I mean it in the best way," he said and I made a doubtful noise "and just so you know, I'm not going anywhere either, not without a fight." I swear I almost cried then and there, now you all know I'm not one for weeping but something about what George said made me want to cry so badly. Yeah he might not leave me WILLINGLY, but he can't help it if he's taken from me. I shook off those thoughts then, scolding myself, a few nightmares and one part of my experience in the past coming true and I was all set to believe that George was going to die. It was ridiculous, I was being stupid, I needed to make sure George knew that I wasn't going anywhere just so that we could enjoy our relationship and feel secure, not because his days were numbered and I was having prophetic dreams to tell me that. I was being stupid. My dreams were just that, dreams, they were nothing like Mark's even if Mark's could be considered dreams, and the only similarity was that I was getting just as tired as Mark was now. At least his dreams were letting up a bit, I thought, Mark hand managed to get some proper sleep last night after all our planning at the office, he still had his reoccurring dream about the prophecy, but at least he got some sleep.

"I know that," I said working on brightening my tone, annoyed that even though I had convinced myself (yet again) that my dreams amounted to nothing, I was still unhappy and unwilling to go to bed and deal with them again, I also didn't want to leave George.

"Good," George said pulling away and looking at me once more, though his expression was serious now "but you're not getting away with it that easily Robin, what's bothering you so much?"

"We talked about this, this morning," I groaned really unwilling to discus this "it's nothing."

"But whatever it is, is clearly still bothering you." George insisted, clearly I wasn't getting out of this conversation, so rather than admit to him that I was possibly going mad (visiting the past) and having dreams about his death, I lied.

"It's nothing, I'm just wondering about Jess and Joe; I don't honestly think they would betray us, and I'm worried about the imposters and if they mean us any harm. Not to mention the money shortage and how on Earth we're going to give money to the poor if we cant even keep a roof over our own heads." I said in a hurried rush, I was fairly good a lying but George was the only person that could sway me from it if I thought it was for the best. Okay, it wasn't really a lie, I mean I am worried about all of those things, really badly, especially how we were going to hand money out without any to give, but the reason I kept looking at George and my troubled expression over the past weeks, those specific questions George had asked, were a result of my dreams. So yeah, it was probably lying.

"Don't worry," George soothed though I knew that he was worrying about those things just as much as I was plus his own stuff with his father, so it really didn't comfort me all that much "I think you're right about Joe and Jess, and even if they are telling some of our secrets no one has found us yet so they are clearly still loyal to us, and these imposters have done nothing yet to truly hurt us or even make us look bad, they're just doing the sort of things we normally do."

"I just don't want it to end up like last time, no one can afford to turn us away, more so now than ever, but I know they will if they think we're doing something immoral." I told him, like I said; I honestly was worried about this stuff.

"If it even starts to get bad we'll cut it off before things get too much, besides, we're talking to Jess and Joe about it soon, Tuesday when they come to the office, and we'll get the money, there's that decorating job on Tuesday as well and we're going back to the mansion tomorrow night." George whispered and I nodded "we'll be fine we always are." He said though despite his words his expression told me that he was worried he might be wrong.

"I know," I told him in a quiet voice just in case anyone was listening "I reckon we should get some sleep, we've got college tomorrow." I grudgingly admitted as I reached up and gently caressed the side of his face with my hand, his eyes drifted shut at my touch and I smiled in spite of the worry I felt.

"Hum," he murmured, he sounded about as reluctant as I felt "I suppose," he said before his eye flew open and he reached down to kiss me, I welcomed the touch of his soft lips and retuned his kiss with an eagerness he had not expected given my drowsy state. My attraction to him flared and I was overcome by the incredible need to be close to him, he feel his body against mine, and so what had started out as a simple goodnight kiss ended up with the two of us kissing each other in an almost frantic state. His lips were slowly becoming more and more urgent, I could sense the want and desire behind them and felt myself return it in my own kisses, I knew exactly how he felt, I had never ever felt like this before, never in my life had I had such a want and a need for someone. It hit me then what I wanted, hit me like a revelation, I wanted George. I wanted him so badly that I wasn't thinking, my hands slipped under the soft fabric of his hoodie and shirt both, caressing the warm skin of his back in a rather suggestive manner as I traced a line with my finger around George's jeans waist band. George shivered in what I hoped was please, I smiled against his lips but George pulled away.

"Now," he said with a smile of his own on his lips, his breathing was heavy and laboured as well "is not a good time, I think."

I was momentarily put out, I frowned at George for cutting short our kiss and ending whatever could have happened before it had a chance to, George grinned at my pouting and that only made me glare more. I was about to object or pull George's lips back to mine when I realised exactly what I had been doing. I hadn't been thinking, I had been taking it too far and I hadn't even thought about it, I hadn't given a second thought to the fact that we were not alone in the house and that even our kissing in the mildest way made my family uncomfortable. I hadn't even given a thought to how in the current situation this was not the time, I had been so wrapped up in my sudden need that everything else had gone out the window, and I loved it. When had I developed this sudden need for George? I wondered as I tried to even out my breathing, I had always fought Adam when he tried to take it that step forward, and now I was the one trying to get things to speed up. The answer was simple of course, I trusted George, I loved George and the idea of spending a night with him did not make me feel reluctant or evasive (or repulsed) as it would and did when ever Adam not so romantically suggested it.

"I'm sorry," I said even though I wasn't really, I was sorry that I had possibly made George uncomfortable since maybe he wasn't ready to go that far yet but I wasn't sorry that I had made my feelings known "I shouldn't have…"

"Don't be sorry," George told me, his smile wide and his eyes shinning in the darkness, reminding me once again of lighthouse beacons "I'm not, I just don't think its something we want to do now, some other time…" George said gradually staring to sound more embarrassed and even in the dark I could see that he was blushing cutely "…would be great, when we're not both dead on our feet and there is less stuff hanging over our heads."

His embarrassment was so endearing to me that I only smirked at him and nodded, unable to feel mad or robbed when he looked at me like that "what?" he asked with a little laugh.

"Nothing," I said, deciding it would be beyond cheesy to say something like 'your cute when you blush' even though it was true. George seemed satisfied anyway; he locked those beautiful eyes with mine before leaning in and kissing me tenderly on the lips again. I responded and instinctively tried to deepen the kiss; George chuckled and pulled away again.

"What am I going to do with you?" he asked me as he smiled at me "you're making it very hard to resist you."

"Then don't," I told him, not in a seductive manner but simply as a solution to his problem, the answer was obvious, why bother fighting something like this?

"If we're doing this we're going to do it properly, Robin." He said in a hushed voice as he linked his hand with mine.

"When?" I asked him, this new need having taken root so deep inside me now that I had to ask.

"When it's right," he said before raising my hand to his lips and kissing my knuckle gently, he then winked at me and said "Night." Before letting go of my hand and heading for his bedroom door.

"Night," I said tiredly before yawning into my hand, George flashed me one more dazzling smile before disappearing into his room and switching on the light so he could see. I watched his shadow moving across the bedroom, the dark spaces cast in the light streaming from under the door showing me his progress, I then yawned again and realised that I had been half asleep and staring at George's door.

Feeling tiredness hit me repeatedly in waves I turned my door handle and opened the door, I closed it behind me and flicked on the light switch, I stifled a gasp as what I saw waiting for me in the corner of my bedroom.

"Excuse me while I just throw up," Adam sneered darkly from his corner where he lent against the wall, we sized each other up, acting like boxers across a ring and not two people who were once together. "Now why is it," Adam asked as he pushed off from the wall and took step towards me, my hands balled into fists and I glared at him, I had thought that I was rid of him "that I spent ages, the last four months of our six month relationship actually, trying to coax you into bed and you've been seeing Peter Perfect there for only what, three weeks, and you're already offering yourself up to him? Is there any justice in this world?"

"Shhhh," I hissed, conscious of the volume of Adam's speech since George could hear almost perfectly, better than any human being ever should be able to and better than the rest of us, I was sure he must have heard Adam by now but apparently not since he hadn't said anything. Adam had whispered his words though, he had said them so quietly that I had barely heard them; the force with which he said them was the only thing that made them audible. "Get out of here." I spat, not even bothering to ask what he wanted.

"What?" he whisper shouted "don't you have an answer for to questions?"

I shuddered at the thought of Adam over hearing our conversation, he had though, clearly he had or he wouldn't be saying this. It made my skin crawl that he had been in here while George and I were having such a conversation "You have no right to demand any answers from me." I told him, speaking every inch the truth because he didn't; he had no right to stand there and demand to know what I was doing with George.

"I can demand anything I want," he told me, his voice still low and barely audible "I own you, or did you forget?"

"You don't own me, get that into your thick skull and get the hell out of my room!" I hissed in a quiet and dangerous voice, I took a step into the room to try and usher him out but he was having none of it.

"We had this discussion just yesterday, Robin," he reminded me coldly "I say jump, you say how high, remember?"

"No," I said sternly as my fury mounted, his words pissing me off immensely "You, are jumping right out this window, now, and staying away from me forever. I've had enough of this, I am not your slave any more." I was right in front of him then; about to grab hold of him and pull him to the window, his next words stopped me however.

"What, so is that it then, you going to sleep with him and then let me tell his dad his big secret just so that you can get rid of me?" he asked and I felt my eye twitch, absolute rage coursing through my veins as I curled my hands into fists and rounded on Adam, almost shaking with rage.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" I asked him, my voice strained, seeing my reaction Adam sneered and said,

"I said, are you gunna shag him and then hand him over to Baxter?" each word laced with venom and each word stinging me because of that, I broke then, I snapped and without so much as a moments hesitation I pulled back my fist and punched Adam. He doubled over as a blood vessel broke and blood started to steam down his nose, he didn't fall over and didn't let out any noise other than a disgusted one. He glared up at me as I spoke, my tone nothing but a hiss.

"Do not judge me by your standards; we all know that that's what you did with my supposedly best friend simply because I wasn't going to give you any. I love George, get that, I love him! I trust him and feel safe with him, he's a decent person and he loves me back…"

"Oh, stop your gunna make me sick." He said once again reverting back to his natural Have Not accent because he was made.

"…which is more than I can say for you!" I concluded still glaring at him and trying not to let my voice get too loud "you were put on this Earth purely to piss me off."

"What can I say, its one of my many passions." He spat angrily and got to his feet, blood still dripping from his nose.

"Well no more, I'm not putting up with it any longer, I want you gone." I said as I went to grab hold of him again but I stopped when I caught Adam looking at faint remnants of the bruise his hands around my neck had caused me three weeks ago, yellowed and smaller now but still most defiantly there.

"Don't underestimate me," he said taking his gaze away from my neck and locking his gaze with mine, that horrifying and completely un-Adam dark look back in his eyes, I remained firm though, I didn't let on how much his words scared me.

"Out," I repeated, gesturing to the window, Adam didn't move however and asked,

"I thought you said that you loved him?" In a whispered tone.

"I do," I told him with a frown, not sure why he was asking me this.

"Then do you really think telling me to get lost is a good idea, given how upset it would make me?" he asked in a tone that could only be described as deadly, another thing that was never part of the old, common and relatively harmless (unless you were the section of the heart that worried about faithfulness or a self esteem) Adam.

"I don't believe you; you'd never tell on him, you're just bluffing." I said sternly, sure of myself and not about to be bullied by Adam, that didn't work however.

"I thought that maybe you were thinking that," Adam said before pulling a folded and unsealed envelope out of his pocket "which is why I brought this, since your not going to play along with the blackmail thing I'm just going to have to hand it to Mr. Baxter now." He said and just as he did he opened the envelope and pulled out a picture, it wasn't one I had been expecting, not one of the old ones that Adam had showed me the very first time be broke into my room, this one was newer, taken just last week to be specific. The picture showed George and I (thought you couldn't tell that it was me since I had my mask on, it was only evident that I was 'Robin Hood') walking down the lane after being dropped off my John about a week ago, we're laughing despite being tired because we hadn't got back from the drop off's until about five o'clock in the morning and the sun was just starting to rise. Adam had snapped the picture just after George had taken off his mask, his hood was down as well and the slip of material in his hand no longer hid his identity. I felt my eyes go wide and made a grab for the picture.

"Give me it!" I whisper shouted as I lunged for the picture but Adam pulled it away before I could reach it, laughing quietly and sinisterly as he did.

"I don't think so," he said and I glared at him, I was backed into a corner now and I had no choice, and he knew it as well as I did "now that I have your attention, what are you going to do to stop me from giving this and the other photo's to Mr. Baxter?"

"What do you want?" I asked, asking for the first time since he got here the reason why that was.

"You didn't come to my house last night," he said, his voice menacing and that darkness in his brown eyes again "I want you to keep to the terms of our agreement, you do what I ask, when I tell you to. This is out of my hands now." Something about that last bit caught my attention; it prickled at the back of my subconscious but was soon overrun by more pressing matters.

I frowned and stifled a repulsed shiver at Adam's words, the thought of going to Adam's house, where I would be at his mercy, held no joy for me and I actually started to feel physically ill because of it, I could take my punishment though, I could deal with it if it meant that George would be safe.

"When?" I asked him through gritted teeth, my hands were still in fists by my side and I was about ready to snap again but just about holding on, staring at this loathsome creature did not help.

"How about Tuesday, I'm busy tomorrow," Adam suggested, I bet you are you slimy bastard, I thought angrily as I continued to glare at him "about eleven o'clock, make sure that you're there by then and I'll make sure that you leave at one."

I nodded, it was a stiff and forced movement, I was so angry that I could hardly control myself long enough to do that; I couldn't believe that I was being forced into something by Adam, yet again. I shook with rage, which only made Adam grin as he could see just how much this pained me.

"Me and you have got some things to discus, since I've got a few things to tell you, the sort of things Georgie boy could never tell you." he told me in a secretive, vindictive whisper.

"Out," I growled at him "out now, I've agreed to your demand now leave me in peace." I said furious and with my patience stretched to braking point I was going to lose it pretty darn soon.

"And if I say no?" Adam asked and I snapped, I pulled my hand back and slapped him, even though it wasn't the punch I had delivered earlier it had enough righteous anger behind it to knock Adam into my chest of draws. As his body collided with the wood the whole thing shook and banged against the wall, George's wall, every ornament and object on top of it clattered and rolled and I cringed at the noise all of this made.

Adam rounded on me, his so expression furious I had no doubts that he was going to return my slap, or worse. I raised my chin in defiance and remained grounded where I stood, Adam had already taken enough from me, my pride, my self respect and my principles, I wasn't going to let him know that he was starting to frighten me as well. Fortunately before Adam could stalk any closer to me the sound of the light flicking back on in George's room echoed through the house, we both froze, my mind whirling and hoping that George had fallen straight to sleep when he climbed into bed and had just woken up and so hadn't heard any of that, because that tiny motion of George turning on the light made so much noise that I was fearful that our hushed argument hadn't been quiet enough. My gaze shot to my door as I heard George's door open, I shot Adam a look as George knocked gently on my bedroom door.

"Robin?" he asked gently through the wood, I ran to the door and griped the handle in my hand, I turned back to tell Adam to shove off but he was already disappearing under my bed.

"George," I said softly, guilt and shame filling me at the concern in his voice, this was starting to become a regular thing, Adam showing up, us arguing and making a noise which George then heard and came to investigate. I hated myself and Adam both for letting this happen.

"Are you alright?" he asked me and I slowly opened the door, there he was, standing on the landing with that all too familiar look of worry on his face, his blond hair tousled from what little sleep he had gotten.

"Yeah, I was just looking for something; I tripped over something on the floor and fell into my draws though." I said shrugging it off as though it was nothing, though I was sure that my expression was still murderous.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked stepping into the room, I took a step back for every step he took out of pure shame, this stopped after three steps and when George reached out to lightly touch my head with one hand and to inspect my arm with the other, looking for damage.

"Yes, it probably wont even bruise. I'm fine." I said with an edge to my voice that was directed at Adam. "Did I wake you?" I asked just in case George nodded sleepily and smiled, I knew then he hadn't heard anything other than the bang.

"I fell to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow," he said as he laced his fingers with mine "no such luck?"

"No," I said no longer able to meet George's gaze now that I knew what was coming this Tuesday "no such luck."

"I'll leave you to get some sleep then, if you're okay." He said before leaning in and kissing me on the forehead, he bid me a goodnight that I weakly returned and the headed back to his room. I closed the door behind him and switched off the light listening to the shuffling that signified Adam getting up from under the bed.

"Aww," Adam mocked and without need for anything else I stormed across the room until I was right in front of him and then hissed, in the quietest most deadliest voice I could manage,

"Out, get out now."

Adam laughed at how on edge I was but didn't argue, he headed towards the open window and was half way out when he turned back and whispered, "See you Tuesday." I glared at him but didn't utter any response, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I fought to keep a handle on my rage, with one more smirk in my direction Adam vanished from sight.

Furious and filled with the desire to scream I ran to my bed, picked up my pillow and pushed it to my face before doing just that, angry tears burned my eyes but I fought them back, I would not shed a tear (not even one caused by fury) for Adam, not ever. I threw my pillow back down, being more cautious of George in the next room now, I sank onto my bed, deflated and worn out, unable to believe what I had agreed to and about ready to tare my hair out. How was I going to get out of this one? Under duress I had agreed to go to Adam's house late at night in order to protect George, once I was inside the confines of Adam's house there would be no escape, at least not until one o'clock Adam had promised as much, where I could not refuse anything Adam asked for fear of him telling George's dad who George really was, something Baxter would certainly think to be punishable by death. I dropped my head into my hands and sighed as I raked my fingers through my hair, as if trying to think of more places to get money for the growing number of people below the poverty line in Locksdale wasn't bad enough, like I needed teen drama to go along with it. Just then a blast of cold night wind hit me in the back, making me shiver and reminding me of the still open window, I frowned and balled my fists again. I jumped to my feet wanting to slam the window shut in my fury, but knowing full well that I couldn't do that without waking everyone up, I wondered why my parents hadn't heard that bang and come to investigate just as I reached the window and went to shut it.

My eyes spotted something coming down the lane, and once again I hastily shut my window and drew my curtains so that I wouldn't be seen. Headlights spilled a yellow beam of light into my room, telling me that it was a car approaching the house and sparking my interest though I could hardly say that I didn't have a guess as to who it was. Three car doors slammed in cannon and the sound of footsteps heading for the front door, I wasn't surprised or worried when the sound of the key turning in the lock followed this sound, I didn't need to hear anything more to know that Joey and my parents had returned from wherever they had been disappearing off to these past few weeks during the night time hours. Wondering just what the three of them had been doing I rushed to get changed into my pyjama's and climbed into bed just as they reached the landing and went their separate ways. I pondered everything that had happened today, everything that I had to do and everything that was stressing me out and frightening the living daylights out of me before my tiredness became too much for me and I succumbed to the need for sleep and once again fell into that all too familiar nightmare.

Author note: so there it was, what do you reckon? I have to admit how good it felt to have Robin hit Adam, twice, it's been a long time coming and I was so thrilled to do it lol. Like I say, I hope that you enjoyed it because I did lol, thank you to everyone who has reviewed my work, it means more to me than I can say, much love! Please let me know what you think to this, I'd love to hear from you. :) x