"Aaron. . ."
The teen could faintly hear Jackson trying to wake him from under the heavy cover of sleep that was still clinging to him. It was the first time he'd gotten a proper nights sleep in ages and he didn't want to have to wake from it, just a few more minutes.
"Aaron, come on." Jackson sighed as he began to rub Aaron's stomach gently.
"Few more minutes." Aaron groaned with one hand thrown over his eyes to block out any light.
Jackson let out another sigh, still continuing to rub the palm of his hand up and down Aaron's flat stomach. "Told you, you would be feeling it in the morning." Jackson smirked.
Aaron opened one eye to look at his boyfriend. "I'm not!" He protested.
Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Not yet, you're not." He said as he climbed off the bed. He must have woken long before trying to wake the younger man. He was already showered and dressed.
Aaron scoffed. "Just because you can't drink without a hangover in the morning."
Knowing he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep again, any time soon, Aaron decided it was in fact time to get up. He caught the time on the alarm clock on Jackson's side of the bed, eleven AM. He had definitely gotten a good nights sleep.
"What do you want to wear?" Jackson asked as he hovered near the draws and wardrobe.
"Anything." Aaron groaned with his eyes squinted as he pushed himself up by his arms into a sitting position. Jackson was right, he was feeling it but not until he'd raised his head from the pillow. His head throbbed and he had to keep still for a moment to let the dizzy spell pass.
"Told ya." Jackson sang as he threw a t-shirt Aaron's way before he went back to find more clothes.
"Alright shut up." Aaron grumbled rubbing his head.
An hour later Aaron was downstairs in the lounge again, sitting on the sofa with his legs stretch out in front of him to cover all of the seats. He seemed to be alternating between laying in bed and laying on the sofa. If it was gonna be like this for the next six months he was dreading it. He'd taken his pain killers as soon as he'd finished his breakfast, not only had it dealt with the nagging pain in his lower leg but the throbbing headache he had due to downing most of Adam's pint the night before.
"Should I go get us a few movies in?" Jackson suggested as he plonked himself down on the other sofa.
Aaron shook his head, he was bored of watching movies. It was all he had been doing for the past few weeks. He'd managed to watch is his way through the entire collection of DVDs Paddy had brought over the years and had even made a start on the few that Jackson had brought with him when he moved in. He was drawing the line at watching any of Hazel's, even though he'd thrown a few of Paddy's choices back on the shelf.
Jackson was at a loss as to what else to suggest. They couldn't go out anywhere. He would have suggested taking Clyde for a walk but seeing as Aaron couldn't walk far it was a stupid idea. His thoughts were interrupted when the house phone began to ring out on it's stand. He quickly jumped to his feet and picked it up.
Aaron hadn't paid much attention to the conversation Jackson was holding on the phone. He was concentrating on the day time program on the TV whilst he idly stroked Clyde's fur who sat beside him on the floor.
"Aaron, it's for you." Jackson told him as he held the phone out to Aaron.
He raised a questioning eyebrow towards Jackson as he took the phone but the older man didn't say a word. "Hello?" Aaron spoke down the phone. It was the police. Jackson still stood in front of him trying to pick up on anything that Aaron might say or do, which would give away what the police were telling him. The teen just seemed to murmur understandings as he listened intently to what they had to say.
"Okay then, thanks." Aaron said before pressing end on the phone and chucking it down beside him on the sofa ten minutes later.
"What did they want?" Jackson asked, realizing if he wanted to know what had been said in that conversation he would have to be the one to ask.
"Nothing really." Aaron shrugged before gazing off at the TV screen. He hadn't found the program all that interesting to start off with but now he was trying his hardest to make sure it was. Jackson still stood in front of him, obviously not satisfied with that answer he wanted to know more. "They just wanted to tell me about this other kid that Darrel had attacked." Aaron sighed as if it were nothing. ". . . He's in hospital still, just come round from his coma luckily."
"Oh god Aaron." Jackson said holding a hand to his mouth as he reached out with his other to place it on Aaron's arm by his side. "That's horrible. When did it all happen?"
"Seems I'm not the only one he pushed down the stairs." Aaron laughed bitterly trying to make light of taking a tumble himself. It was still raw. "A few days before he . . . you know, before I was- taken to hospital. He pushed this other guy down a flight of concrete steps outside his flat in town." Aaron explained to him as he began to stroke circles on the top of Clyde's skull with the tips of his fingers. "He only came round a week or so ago and could remember everything. Reported . . . -him immediately." He couldn't manage to get his name past his lips.
"Poor guy. How you dealing with all this?" Jackson asked concerned that it would bring up feelings inside of Aaron that the teen had buried away.
"It's nothing." Aaron shrugged. "Yeah I mean poor guy and everything like you said." Aaron quickly added. "But it's got nothing to do with me."
He didn't like how calm Aaron was about it all and the closed off approach he had to the other guy who had been brutally attacked by Darrel. He knew he wasn't going to get much more information out of him. He'd been vague as it was about what had happened. He wished that police had told him as well whilst he was on the phone to them, but all they had said was that they needed to discuss the new development with Aaron and they couldn't discuss it with anyone else. Tough, they were going to have to discuss it with somebody else. He needed to know. "Aaron, of course it's got something to do with you." Jackson sighed. "He was attacked by Darrel as well-."
"Just shut up!" Aaron snapped at him.
Alarmed by Aaron's outburst Jackson just stared back at him. Sorry he had said anything. He had only wanted to help but obviously Aaron didn't want it. He knew if he were to let Aaron sit and stew over it, it was only going to make matters worse, but he didn't know much about it and he sure as hell wasn't going to get much more from Aaron, especially in his change of sudden mood. Without a word Jackson walked through to the kitchen and walked out the front door before going in through the main door to the surgery. He didn't want Aaron to know he was going to talk to Paddy, but it needed to be done. He would have preferred to sit and talk it out with the teen.
"Oh, you alright love?" Pearl greeted from behind the receptionist desk in the empty waiting room.
"Yeah thanks." Jackson smiled at her. "Paddy around?"
"Just through there, go on through if you want." Pearl said gesturing towards the surgery doors. "There's no one with him."
"Thanks Pearl." Jackson said as he made his way through.
Paddy was busy filling out forms on one of the examination tables, he looked up when Jackson entered. "Everything alright?"
"No, not really." Jackson said crossing his arms over his chest.
"What's he done now?" Paddy said automatically.
Jackson quickly and quietly explained to the older vet what had gone just mere minutes before, including the call from the police and Aaron's calmness then sudden change in mood as he flew off the handle at him. He then went on to ask Paddy if he wouldn't calling the Police for him and enquire about what had been said on the phone so he could try and solve the issues that seemed to have started to grow in Aaron.
"Pearl, do you mind going early for your break?" Paddy more or less told than asked.
"But I've got to bo-." Pearl began. She wanted to stick around and find out why Jackson had needed to speak to Paddy.
"No need Pearl." Paddy grinned, opening the main door to the surgery. "Off you pop, take ten minutes longer if you want." Again rather then a suggestion more an instruction.
"If you insist." Pearl said rather ruffled as she collected her bag and marched out the door in a huff.
"Right then." Paddy said, taking Pearl's seat as he picked up the phone to call the Police.
Paddy had to wait a while and speak to numerous different people before he was finally put through to the correct person to talk to. ". . . Yes I understand that. But we need to know what was said." Paddy said down the phone. ". . . . . . I'm his- what you would call it. . ."
"Step dad." Jackson hinted in his ear."
"-Step dad." Paddy quickly said. ". . . Yes, I do know that. . . . Thank you!"
Jackson raised his eyebrows up at Paddy who nodded his head enthusiastically at him to tell him they were through.
"Mm. . . ." Paddy murmured down the phone." Yes. . . Okay. . . . alright . . . How old?"
He was on the phone for a good twenty minutes talking to the police officer who was handling the case before he ended the call and let out a long sigh.
"What did they say?" Jackson asked quickly as he rested his hands on the desk top in front of him.
"Well, there was in fact another boy that was pushed down stairs by that evil man." Paddy started to tell him. "But he's a little older than Aaron is, twenty-one years old and he was pushed down several flights of steps. Plus he'd never spoken to Darrel until the night it happened which was a couple of nights after the house Party you two went to when Darrel . . . attacked him again."
"How badly was he hurt?" Jackson hated to ask.
"Quite seriously, miracle there was no brain damage apparently." Paddy answered as he got to his feet. "Numerous broken ribs, sprained wrist, several contusions to his head and neck."
"Quite nasty then." Jackson summed up.
"Some how I don't think it was the same sort of attack with Aaron." Paddy thought out loud. "He was just pushed, a heated argument got out of hand apparently."
Jackson raised an eyebrow. It was never 'just'.
"Well anyway, they didn't mention anything of Darrel or him having anything sexual between them, or either of them wanting anything more either." Paddy explained.
"I don't know Paddy, I really don't know." Jackson sighed. "All I do know, it that it's shook Aaron up whether he wants to admit it or not."
"What you gonna do?" Paddy asked. He was fully aware that getting Aaron to admit to his feelings was near impossible. "Tickle it of him?"
"Who knows." Jackson shrugged before turning to smirk at Paddy. "You never know, that might work if all else fails." Jackson joked. "Ticklish is he?"
He'd started something now. "Didn't you know?" Paddy asked a little shocked, how long had the two been going out.
They'd been going out since June but everything that had happened since then, neither had had the chance to explore much of each others bodies. There were still things they had yet to discover about each other and Jackson's main one now was to find out where exactly Aaron was ticklish. "I will soon though." Jackson winked before leaving through the front door and walking back into Smithy's Front door.
A/N – Woo, another update! Struggled with this to start with, to get this update going, I think it's because my minds not really with it today. But anyway hope you enjoyed it, thank you for all the great feedback once more!