AARON LIVESY

-The Chase-

"The Chase "

'Cause I don't wanna lose you now

I'm looking right at the other half of me,

The vacancy that sat in my heart,

Is a space that now YOU hold…

- Justin Timberlake 'Mirrors'

The bacon that was sizzling away in the pan was done; Paddy picked each slice out with the tongs and placed them down on the readied bread. Rhona wasn't having any so it was just him and Aaron. "AARON!" Paddy yelled, usually when he yelled for breakfast he'd bang on the floor, but that was a while ago now since he last lived there and that seemed to not be the case because there was no reply whatsoever and no movement, except someone coming down the stairs but he knew it wasn't Aaron, he was much, much louder coming down them.

Rhona rounded the corner into the kitchen and smiled at her husband. "Wasting your time there, he's not here, don't think his bed was slept in either unless he learned how to make them in France" she told him with a chuckle. "He might be at work"

"No" Paddy shook his head "I saw Cain when I went for the paper, it wasn't open and Aaron has keys so" he shrugged.

"Well he's a big lad now so don't worry" she said with a smile.

"I'll never stop worrying about him" he chuckled. "There's a sandwich going spare now so if you don't want it, I'll have two"

"Oh no you don't I fancy it now" she said as he grabbed it and walked to the table with a grin.

…

The work day was over for most people except for Val and Eric at the B&B, David at the shop and Chas and the barmaids on shift. Paddy got out of his car and looked down the village; he could just barely see Cain closing the gate. No sign of Aaron. Once he got inside he rang both Chas and Adam they hadn't seen him for a week or two as it was, Chas especially after their heated argument. He was left at a loss now, so he thought the only way to know was to ring the man himself, he found Aaron's name in his phone and dialled the number. "Oh for god sake! You kids have them glued to ya but when I wanna get hold of you nothing!"

Rhona chuckled as she walked into the kitchen. "He's not your kid Paddy, come on…he's twenty years old"

Paddy frowned at her. "He IS my kid, not in blood no, just like Leo…but I see Aaron and him as my own so if you don't mind"

"Sorry" she said quietly, realising she'd said the wrong thing. "Answer machine I take it"

"No, it's just ringing and ringing"

"He'll turn up"

"Yeah he might, I don't get it he has no reason to dis-" the penny dropped.

"What's wrong?" Rhona asked.

"Jason, last night Aaron said he was going to tell him about the warrant, what if…wh-what if?"

Rhona stepped over to him and rubbed his arm. "Hey don't get worked up, he hasn't done a runner surely and from what I've heard this Jason bloke really likes him, I don't think he'd turn him in"

"He better not"

"Speak of the devil" Rhona said as she tried to see through the blinds. Paddy turned and looked. "That's Jason…"

"Ohh nice car! He must be pretty high up in the ranks"

"I've no idea, haven't actually got to know him yet" Paddy said as he walked to the door ready for him. "Can you give us a minute?"

Rhona smiled. "Course I can, I've got some paperwork to finish anyway" she told him and left.

Jason smiled as the door to Smithy was opened ready for him, he assumed it was Aaron and he grinned happily, it then faded slightly at the sight of Paddy "Alright? Is Aaron in?"

Paddy shook his head. "No"

"Oh-oh alright well any idea where just I've tried ringing him but he's not picking up"

"No idea mate I thought he might be with you, I've rang his mum and Adam but he's not been seen, we don't think he slept in his bed last night either"

Jason sighed and shook his head as he looked up at the darkening sky; he knew what he'd done.

"What's wrong?" Paddy asked.

"I know about the warrant, Paddy he told him last night, we argued, I stormed out" he said as he ferociously rubbed his forehead. "I kinda left it hanging"

Paddy let out a loud sigh. "That's the worst thing you could have possibly done!" he told him with anger definitely in his words.

"Why?"

"Because he's gone Jason! Done a bloody runner again because he thought you were going to hand him in! He's a not a bad kid you know!"

"Of course he isn't I-I know that and I haven't said a thing at work, I wouldn't Paddy, any idea where he'll be?"

Paddy shrugged. "You better find him quick, he'll be all over the place…" he sighed and thought for a second. "You could try Seth's hide, it's a shed on home farms land, the cricket pavilion, the graveyard, after that mate your guess is as good as mine"

After trying Seth's hide which wasn't the easiest place to find even with directions from Paddy he quickly realised Aaron wasn't in there. He sighed, a panic was rising within him, he didn't want to lose him now, what he'd done for the person Aaron refused to name was a brave and honourable thing to do but he'd put his life at risk by doing it, whoever it was should be dealing with it all themselves and leave Aaron to live his life, well it was the way he saw it anyway. Jason tried calling him again as he left Seth's hide but there was no answer. A little while later he reached the cricket pavilion and he wasn't there either, he could see why Paddy thought he might be there, it was a quiet area to just sit and be alone but obviously Aaron didn't want to be so close to home.

So why on Earth would he be in there? Jason asked himself as he stood at the gates of the graveyard. He sighed and continued and walked in, no one was around but a sudden curiousness befell him. His legs were walking him, he wasn't walking them at least that was how it felt and soon enough there was the name, the name Aaron had so often mentioned. "Oh wow…" Jason breathed out as he knelt down in front of Jackson's headstone. He swallowed hard; uneasiness came over him he felt like he was intruding. "Hi mate…" he said with a frown. "I know you don't know me o-or maybe you do but I'm Aaron's boyfriend and I know you were too and I know from the way Aaron speaks about you that you loved him too, so I need to ask a favour, h-he's gone AWOL and it's my fault…maybe" he sighed. "You know that too, I've tried everywhere except bar west but I haven't gone there yet because I don't think he'll be there, he'll know that's somewhere I'd look…Jackson I love Aaron so much a-and I haven't told him yet, I need to tell him so if you can give me some sort of sign, a clue to where he might be then I promise you now he will be loved and cared for always…I mean it…and I'm talking to a headstone" he sighed and dropped his head in his hands. "Get a grip J" he mumbled to himself and looked up again. "Worth a try eh?" he said with a smile and stood up, placed his fingers on top of the headstone then walked away.

He knocked on the door of Smithy cottage again and was let in seconds later by Paddy; he followed him through to the kitchen and saw a woman sat at the table and a young boy in a highchair playing with a toy preferring that over eating. Rhona smiled up at him. "No sign"

"No, I'm Jason by the way"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rhona and this is Leo"

Jason smiled at him. "Hi mate" he said and Leo looked up and gave him a wide smile. Jason's eyes then focussed on the toy that Leo had in his hands, a wooden train. His eyes widened and he quickly looked at Paddy. "I think I know where he is!"

"You do?" Paddy asked.

"W-where was Jackson's accident?"

"A few miles out between here and Hotten" Paddy told him and gave him some directions before Jason bolted for his car.

…

The country roads were pitch black now and he was driving well over the speed limit, his panic and love for Aaron driving him.

Aaron was sat on the pallets that hadn't been moved since Jackson's accident. He sighed and looked up at the stars. He grabbed his backpack and stood up. Been gone long enough… he thought to himself. He walked along the stones and up to the bushes, it was a squeeze but he got back out onto the road. He frowned; he didn't want to go back, not now he didn't know what might be waiting on his return so he started walking in the opposite direction. A few minutes later he heard the roar of an engine he didn't think anything of it, instead he just walked right up against the bushes so he wasn't hit. But as the sound got louder as it got closer he recognised it and he turned and saw headlights rounding a corner in the distance.

Jason's eyes widened when he saw him. "Don't you dare move!" he yelled despite knowing he wouldn't hear him.

Aaron stared at the car, he knew it was Jason driving at some speed to get to him; the headlights blinded him as he swallowed hard and he started stepping back before he turned around again and legged it.

Jason sighed and brought the car to a halt, he put his hazards on and unbuckled his seat belt and got out and started running after him. "Aaron!"

"Leave me alone!" Jason heard from up ahead. "I'm not coming back; I'm not going to prison!"

Jason sighed and kept running; the gap between them was staying the same. "God mate slow down you can run for England! I just want to talk, I'm here as your boyfriend not as police!"

"So! You're just saying that!"

"No I'm not!" Jason raged and he pushed himself harder and increased his speed, now slowly, the gap was beginning to decrease between them. "If you keep running then you'll miss what I have to say!" he yelled ahead to him.

"Oh yeah? Like what? You have the right to remain silent all that shit?"

"NO!" Jason screamed and he stopped. The scream in itself had caught Aaron's attention. "I LOVE YOU FOR GOD SAKE!"

Aaron stopped and turned around with a frown and Jason started walking toward him quickly, thankfully Aaron stayed still. When Jason reached him Aaron stepped back and created a gap between them.

"How can you?"

"What?" Jason spat.

"How can you love me? Over the last few weeks you've slowly realised what kind of a monster I am!"

Jason sighed and shook his head. "Don't be daft, I've learned about you, how you selflessly let the only man you've loved go because that's what he wanted, and then again selflessly you admitted to something which you didn't actually do to protect someone close to you! That is brave Aaron and I love you, but despite those things I love you anyway…I-I'm sorry about last night alright…I-I just didn't know what to do, I was angry when I found out and you hadn't told me…but I understand why you didn't…I can only begin to imagine what went through your mind when you realised I was a police officer…but yet you stayed with me…that says a hell of a lot"

"It says I loved you as soon as I saw you again in bar west" Aaron said as he hung his head. "And I never believed in love at first sight…well second, but you know what I mean and it happened, and when I found out about your job I thought I could hide it but the more these feelings grew the more I realised I couldn't lie to you…"

"But when I found out you thought I'd go running to my boss with info?"

Aaron nodded. "I'm sorry Jason"

Jason stepped up to him. "You had a wobble again" he said with a smirk.

Aaron nodded, still looking down onto the road.

"You aren't going to prison Aaron, but this can't hang over you forever you've got to do something about it"

Aaron frowned and looked up at him. "Like what?"

"It's not your burden to have to carry, you didn't light that fire"

"You can't possibly believe I'd drop him in it!"

"Him? Who is him Aaron? Is it Paddy?"

"NO!" he said with frustration.

"Who?!" Jason demanded.

Aaron sighed. "Adam, it was Adam alright…and I'm not getting into why he just did it out of anger because of Cain…he didn't deserve what he would have gotten and he still doesn't!"

"But you can't live like this can't you see?"

"Yeah I do but I'm not doing that to him"

"He needs to grow the hell up and take responsibility instead of letting you take the flack; you had to move away for god sake!"

"My choice Jason" Aaron said with a shrug.

"Not the point you shouldn't have had to at all"

"Is this a drop Adam in it or me situation?"

Jason shook his head. "No, not at all, I just think you need to think about yourself and your life because I love the bones of you and I can't lose you, you…" Jason began to chuckle. "You're like a mirror, I'm looking at the other half of me and I've never felt that way about somebody before until you so please just think about it and come back with me now"

"You do know this is where it all went wrong don't you?" Aaron asked.

"Jackson?"

Aaron nodded. "All because I didn't know if I loved him or not, I was honest but it tore us apart and left him paralysed from the shoulders down" tears began to fall from his eyes. "But I know I love you Jason I do. I love you so much and I can't hurt you" he sobbed. "I can't let this ruin you or your career, I just can't" he cried and wiped his eyes.

"You won't ruin me Aaron" Jason said as he stepped right up to him and placed his hands on Aaron's shoulders. "You would never hurt me and what I do with my career, well that's up to me" he said with a sigh as he looked around and Aaron sensed something in his words.

"What have you done?"

"Nothing…not yet anyway"

Aaron stepped back and frowned at him "What does that mean Jason?"

"I'm thinking of resigning because if anyone makes a connection, then we're both screwed"

Aaron put his hand on his forehead and looked around in dismay. "I feel sick"

"No don't, I'm just thinking about it"

"But it's your career!" he yelled.

"Yeah and I love it but you're more important to me"

"How can you say that?" Aaron asked in a growl of pure frustration.

"You know why, because I love you, and I know it's a word that a lot of people just fling around but I don't and I mean it, you're the first and last thing I think about every day, don't worry about my job alright I'll be fine"

Aaron sighed. "You better be"

Jason nodded. "I will, now will you please just kiss me?"

TBC…