It was Wednesday when the dreaded letter from the crown court arrived through the post. Rhona had been in the kitchen making coffee for Paddy and herself to take back through to the surgery when the postman delivered that days post through the letter box. Without any interest towards who the letters were addressed to or what importance they were, she picked them up and placed them on the kitchen table were they wouldn't be missed before picking up the drinks and going back to work.
After Aaron had spoken to Chas about her not needing to check up on him every single day, she managed to cut down her visits to every couple of days. The amount of trouble Aaron had gotten into in the past year had had a knock on affect on her. Her motherly instincts were now heightened and it made her even more determined to be there for her son in his life. Having not called round either Monday or Tuesday due to being caught up at work and with Carl she'd made sure to come round Wednesday lunch time.
"Aaron?" She called out as she walked through the front door. There was no need to knock, the house seemed to be empty anyway. "Aaron?" She tried once more. ". . . Aaron, love?"
She spotted the letters laying on the table in the kitchen and picked them up as she approached as soon as she noticed the tell tale official stamp on the envelope informing them straight away it was from the crown court. A fair few Dingles had received similar official looking letters over the years and fair majority of the time they were defending themselves for petty crime not fighting for justice.
"Oh It's you." Paddy said making Chas jump as she turned the envelop over in her hand.
"Oh thanks Paddy!" Chas exclaimed, dropping the rest of the post on the table.
"Sorry, I-I didn't mean it to sound quite like that." Paddy quickly apologized. "What's that you go there?" He asked gesturing towards the letter she held tightly in her hand.
Chas looked down at the letter before looking back towards the vet. "It's for Aaron." She told him. ". . . Court date."
"Oh." Paddy sighed, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Oh?" Chas questioned raising her delicate eyebrows.
"Yeah, 'oh'. We were expecting it this week." Paddy admitted nervously.
"When were you going to tell me?" Chas snapped, the apple didn't fall far from the tree.
"We sort of forgot to mention." Paddy mumbled uncomfortably, they genuinely had. He loved the woman but she didn't half scare the life out of him.
"Mmm. . . figures." Chas said under her breath. "Where is he then?" She asked. "Aaron?"
"Oh, upstairs." Paddy answered.
"Upstairs? Why?"
"Don't quite know, he hasn't been down at all yet." Paddy answered her. Jackson had come downstairs early in the morning, grabbed them both breakfast, nipped back upstairs and then rushed back down twenty minutes later to disappear off to work. He's not seen Aaron at all.
"It's gone twelve Paddy! He should have been up and downstairs way before now." Chas ranted. "Never mind about his leg."
"What you doing?" Paddy asked a little startled a rattled Chas headed towards the stairs.
"To see my son, what do you think?" Chas snapped over her shoulder shaking her head as she went.
She knocked once on the closed bedroom door, to give him warning, before walking straight through. She found him laying on the bed with his top half twisted to the side as he propped himself up on one elbow. He was engrossed in some sort of car magazine, whether he was actually reading it or looking at the pictures she never knew. At least he was dressed she had thought when she saw him.
"Why haven't you been downstairs yet?" Chas asked Aaron, startling him. She hadn't noticed the ear plugs blasting music in his ears.
"What?" He snapped as he removed them to enable his ears to hear her.
"Why haven't you been downstairs yet?" Chas repeated from the edge of the bed.
Aaron shrugged. "Easier to stay up here." He answered. "Don't have to keep calling for Paddy when I want to go upstairs to go to the bathroom."
Chas raised an eyebrow. As far as she was aware his leg didn't stop him from being able to use the bathroom on his own.
Aaron rolled his eyes. "Him and Jackson told me if I wanted to go upstairs they have to follow behind me incase I fall." Aaron sighed.
"Paddy doesn't mind doing that!" Chas assured him, finding it a little silly to limit himself to upstairs.
Aaron gave her a pointed look. He minded! "Don't want to hassle him. Just easier this way." He mumbled before noticing the envelope still clutched in her hand. "What's that?" Aaron asked nodding his head towards it.
"Oh this?" Chas said a little surprised to find herself still holding it. "Letter from Court." She said handing it to him.
He took it from her without a word and ripped open the white paper, to get to the letter. He read in silence as Chas watched his face incase she would be able to work out what the court letter had said. After quickly skimming over the details and getting a rough idea about what it was about, he folded it back up again, stuffing it into the ripped envelope and tossed it on the bed.
"So. . . When is it? What did it say?" Chas asked her son when he didn't tell her but went back to his magazine.
"Court date's 27th of October." Aaron shrugged as if it were nothing. "They want me to contact my solicitor within the next week or so to get things started."
"That's good isn't it?" Chas tried to remain optimistic. "It will be over before long, you can put it behind you then."
"Yeah?" Aaron said unsure. Would he be able to put it behind him? He didn't think he was ready to stand up in court and relive it all again. What if Darrel was standing there in the court room when he gave evidence, could he cope?
"Sure you will kid." Chas said, clapping a hand on Aaron's good leg and rubbing it comfortingly. "Do you want me to make you something for lunch? Bacon sandwich? Cheese and pickle?"
"Cheese and pickle please." Aaron smiled as his mum got up and went to follow through with her offer.
"Everything will be alright you know." She said when she reached the door. "You've go us behind you all the way."
Aaron smiled at her before she disappeared downstairs.
Chas spent the whole afternoon with Aaron that Wednesday. After she had come back with a cheese and pickle sandwich and a packet of crisps for him to munch on for lunch she stayed upstairs with him. It was the first time in a long time they'd just hung out just being the two of them, with nobody else around to help them with conversation. They were mother and son, so it couldn't be that hard to find conversation between them. They ended up watching TV, before Chas started moaning about Carl and then Charity's latest antics, anything to keep her son's mind off of the up coming court case. She thought she'd done a pretty good job until Jackson came back.
"Oh, what's this?" Jackson teased when he walked into Aaron's bedroom to find just Chas sitting on the bed, her high heels discarded on the floor.
"My attempt to turn my son's boyfriend." Chas threw back at him, playfully winking at him.
"How many times do I have to tell you Chastity, I couldn't possibly go out with you." Jackson joked as he pulled a sad face, all the time wondering where Aaron was.
"And why's that?" Chas smirked.
"You son would kill me." Jackson said with a deadpan expression causing Chas to laugh.
At that moment her son decided to come back from the bathroom, an eyebrow raised when he caught the last of the conversation. "And why would I be killing you?" Aaron asked as he headed back towards the bed.
"Because your bad influence of a mother is trying to have her wicked way with me." Jackson joked as he winked towards the dark haired woman.
Aaron pulled a disgusted face and tried to rise above the childish banter between his mother and boyfriend. It was embarrassing.
"You wouldn't mind would you Aaron?" Chas said still laughing.
"Go ahead, he's all yours." Aaron smirked.
"That hurt!" Jackson said he pretended to clutch his hurting heart with a hurtful expression. "But I know you care for me really." He sickly added pressing a big kiss to Aaron's cheek.
"Urggh, get off!" Aaron groaned trying to pull away causing both older adults to laugh at him.
That evening, during dinner, Paddy had to be the one to bring up the letter that had arrived in the post. Aaron had wanted to talk to Jackson about it later on upstairs, when it was just the two of them, but Paddy had beat him to the post. So he was forced to discuss it with everyone, including Hazel.
"27th of October, that's not far away." Jackson thought out loud.
"Yep." Aaron nodded, getting a twisting feeling in his stomach.
"When you going to call you solicitor?" Paddy asked.
Aaron was beginning to feel as though he was being interrogated. He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."
"Well you need to as soon as you can." Jackson told him pointedly.
"Fine, I'll do it tomorrow." Aaron sighed looking up from his plate.
"You better do Aaron." Jackson warned him. He was only looking out for Aaron. He wanted him to be as prepared as he could be.
"For gods sake Jackson!" Aaron snapped. "I said I'll do it!"
"Alright, just as long as you do." Jackson said softly trying to defuse Aaron. "I just don't want you to be sure of what you need to do."
Aaron shot a glare towards Jackson.
"Anyone for pudding?" Hazel asked as she clapped her hands and scrapped her chair back across the wooden flooring. She was using her desert as a distraction towards the two younger men who were no doubt going to continue snapping at one other if there wasn't a change of subject. All she had heard from Paddy and Jackson the past few days was the court case. Hazel hated to think how it was driving Aaron mad having to listen to it all.
There was a collective nod circled round the table before she went to fetch said desert.
A/N – So sorry guys, I didn't update yesterday and this update isn't up to the usual standards. Hope you can forgive me for that! I'll try my hardest to update again today and make up for the lack of eventfulness inside this update, a lot more is planned in the next. Thank you for such kind feedback, support and overall niceness.