– AARON & JACKSON: MY WAY –

"THE WAY IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN"

~This fanfic follows on immediately after We Almost Had It

- I do not own the characters, or Emmerdale – ITV do.

...

Aaron stood outside of bar west in a panic; he needed to find him, to tell him he didn't know how he had the drugs on him. He ran around a corner and saw Jackson's van parked up at the side of the road but Aaron guessed he was ready to drive off, the headlights were on, and he didn't stop running until his hands were on the bonnet of the van.

Jackson looked up at him, the lights from the van lit him up beautifully...Jackson sighed, a sight that didn't help matters either. "Go away Aaron!"

Aaron shook his head. "I'm not doing drugs Jackson! You have to believe me I don't know how they got there!" he yelled.

Jackson revved the engine. "Move or I swear to god I'll knock you down!"

Aaron stepped back away from the van and held out his arms. "Go on then!"

Jackson sighed and shook his head.

Aaron stepped closer to the van then veered off to the passenger side and quickly got in

...

"I don't get you Aaron...you decide to help a man who has done absolutely nothing for you your entire life" Jackson told him as he concentrated on the dark road ahead. "You passed drugs from group to group to help him pay off his debt might I add"

"Yeah I know that Jackson!" he replied angrily as he looked out his window.

"Yeah you saw sense but you got a kicking for it! I could have lost you, do you know how that feels or was all that back in the bar bullshit?"

Aaron shook his head - that did it. "Stop the van" he told him calmly.

Jackson shook his head. "You got in here; you have to listen to everything I have to say"

Aaron swung his head round to him swiftly. "I SAID STOP THE VAN!" he shouted loudly and angrily as his hands hit the seat Aaron was sat on in time with each word, his anger obvious.

Jackson sighed and put his foot down on the brake and stopped the van, as he was pulling up the hand brake Aaron got out and walked several metres in front of the van.

Jackson closed his eyes briefly and then pushed his door open and got out; Aaron was facing away from him.

"D-Do ya wish I never said it?" Jackson asked.

Aaron turned around and looked at him. "Do you think I'm on drugs?"

Jackson sighed. "You do that a lot, answer a question with a question...just answer me Aaron"

Aaron began to pace in front of him, then after a few seconds he shook his head. "No, No I don't wish you never said it" he told him.

Jackson nodded, smiling inside at Aaron's reply. "But the drugs Aaron...I-I...would you? A-Are you? Because if you are I can't be with you"

"No Jackson I'm not taking the drugs and I wouldn't, I don't know how they got there, that jacket was in the garage the day I was attacked..." he shrugged. "They probably put it in there so I'd get caught with it, I don't know how those scumbags think" he sighed and turned away. "You really hurt me when you assumed what I said in the bar was a load of bull..."

Jackson closed his eyes as he lowered his head, he felt really bad for that but as Aaron would know; things come out in the spur of the moment. "I didn't mean it...I know what it would have took for you to tell me those things"

"Yeah..." Aaron replied as he stood looking down at the ground.

Emotions began to overwhelm Jackson and he started to cry. "Why can't you say it Aaron?"

Aaron looked at him with a frown.

"It's just the same as what you explained to me but those three words that's it..." he continued

Aaron shrugged and stepped closer to him. "Because I'm scared of it..." the desperation for Jackson to understand was clear in his tone. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me...well Paddy...my mum...but you...you Jackson" Aaron started to cry now. "You have been there for me since the beginning of it all...and I'm scared of saying the words because when I do it's all going to go wrong...everybody close to me gets hurt...my mum couldn't stand me once...she told me she was done with me...Paddy tried to help me...helping me...and I beat him up because I was angry and he was pushing me and now I realise it was for my own good!" Aaron told him, his eyes simply allowing the tears to stream down his face as he spoke. Aaron took a breath and turned away again.

"Hey...nothing's going to happen to me...I'm still here...I can talk and walk"

Aaron looked at him. "For now yeah...what if you push me one day and I snap...eh?"

Jackson shook his head. "Don't..."

"I'm not used to anyone giving a damn about me Jackson..."

"But I give a damn and I've showed you everyday" Jackson told him.

Aaron felt empty, and he stood looking past Jackson. "And I don't know if I'll ever give one back...I feel what I feel...but at the end of it all..." he shrugged. "I'm still me...chavvy trouble making Aaron...it's all I'm worth...I'm not qualified to be happy..."

Jackson closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists as the emotion became too much. "Y-You will be happy one day..."

Aaron came out of his stare and looked at Jackson.

"And when you feel love you'll know when you're ready to tell the guy..." Jackson smiled through the tears.

"What do you mean Jackson?" Aaron asked.

Jackson shook his head, and began to turn back to the van.

Aaron panicked. "No...Jackson...!" he began to cry hard. "I don't know what I mean...I'm confused...please you've got me!" he urged him.

Jackson shook his head as he got inside the van; he slammed the door shut and rolled down his window. "You're wrong Aaron...I never had ya..." he looked out to the road ahead and turned the ignition on and he started driving away slowly.

"No!" Aaron hit the side of the van. "You've got me!" he screamed and continued running after the van as it drove down the road, it was a pointless task but Aaron wanted to keep running, Paddy said to try...he was going too...

...

Minutes passed he couldn't see the van anymore, he was running as fast as he could, and Aaron could run, he reached for his phone as he continued down the long road. He pressed a few buttons and he began dialling Jackson, he held it to his ear and waited, the dialling tone continued. *He's not going to answer* Aaron thought as he wiped away the tears from his eyes. "Come on! Answer...Answer..." he sobbed.

Seconds later as he ran around the bend in the road, he heard a crashing sound; his eyes widened and he stopped the phone from dialling and he ran faster...

...

He stopped when he saw a break in a fence...he frowned...he only had the moon for light...but it was a clear night so that helped a bit and he walked carefully through the gap and he ended up slipping down a gentle slope, but it had been raining everything was soaked. He hadn't seen the level crossing lights flashing red, but he did see Jackson's van tipped on its side. "Oh god!" he whispered and he continued running, towards Jackson.

He reached the van seconds later; he kneeled down in between the two steel rail lines and looked in the window of the van. "Jackson! Get up...come on..."

Jackson opened his eyes and lifted himself up onto his elbow. "Hang on..." he struggled. "My legs stuck..." he told him as he attempted to pull it.

Aaron got up quickly again and jumped onto the top of the van which would be the passenger side door. He pulled it open and then knelt down, seeing Jackson had pulled himself free he was slowly standing up.

"Take my hand!"

"Why should I?" He spat.

"Time and places Jackson! Grab my hand, put your foot on the dashboard and get the hell out!" Aaron shouted then he looked away.

Jackson frowned. "What is it...?"

Aaron began to shake, he panicked at what he saw coming. "Grab my hand now! No messing about there's a train coming and they aint gunna stop for us!"

Jackson's eyes widened and he grabbed Aaron's hand tightly and put his foot on the dashboard, then put his free hand out of the van and pulled himself out with Aaron's help, he moved quickly but the moment was like it was happening in slow motion.

Aaron's breathing was still hard from the running and as soon as Jackson was out both lads jumped away from the van, the train swiped the van away and shoved it off the track into some crates one second later.

Both men landed harshly on the jagged stones by the rail line, Aaron landed on his side and cut his upper arm open and was bleeding, still recovering from the running.

Jackson rolled over and lifted himself up and crawled over to Aaron and grabbed him into a hug. "You saved my life!" he cried and shook Aaron. "You stupid idiot!"

"I'd do it again!" Aaron told him as he sat up.

Jackson nodded and cried harder as he was pulled in closer by Aaron; he cried against his shoulder then saw his blood and bolted upright. "You're bleeding!"

Aaron knew he was and shook his head. "I'm alright" he said before lying down. "Just gimme a minute..." he said breathlessly.

Jackson nodded.

"I caused the accident didn't I?" Aaron asked.

Jackson sighed and closed his eyes. "I was the one who went to answer it Aaron"

"What did you do that for?" he asked with a raised voice.

"Because you obviously wanted me too...but now you wish you didn't..."

"Not if I knew you were gunna crash!" he sighed.

"Well I was the driver...I decided too...and I'm alright...just a bit stiff, some cuts that's all...look at us, just escaped that and we're having a tiff!" he couldn't help but smile.

Aaron smiled but it faded quickly, he sat up again. "But it happened...you're close to me and now you're hurt..."

Jackson looked at him with such love in his eyes. "You can't blame yourself for that...it could have happened any time of day...even if my phone wasn't ringing..."

"I've put you through hell" Aaron looked down at the floor, his hands clasped together and they covered his mouth.

"And I'm still here...I-I love you Aaron" Jackson told him as Aaron rummaged in his pocket.

Jackson saw he had the bag of drugs in his hands and he was opening it up. "I don't do drugs..." Aaron told him then tipped the bag upside down; the white powder was swept away with the wind.

"I'm sorry Aaron"

Aaron shook his head. "It's alright...you care about me because you love me...and I've never been so scared in my entire life when you were driving away...I ran and I kept running down the road even though it was pointless...then the van..." he sighed. "I think the adrenaline kicked in then..." as he spoke Jackson took his hand and held it. Aaron looked down at his hand holding his as tears dropped. He caught his breath. "I love you" he said with a gasp; his face scrunched as the emotion took over and he cried hard. "I'm sorry"

Jackson shook his head and grabbed Aaron into a hug. "Shhh..." he kissed his head. "I know you find things hard Aaron but you can be yourself with me you know that, love is what we've had for a long time, it just takes a while for it to be realised. All this..." he looked around. "My smashed up van over there...none of it matters, what matters is that me and you are okay...and have each other...I'm sorry too Aaron...for everything I said tonight and leaving you on that road..."

Aaron nodded. "It's alright..." he told him then looked over at the van. "Oh god...I'll replace it...everything...the tools the lot..."

"Shush..." Jackson whispered and Aaron turned to find his face close to his. "I love you" he told Aaron again and kissed him with more passion than ever before, Aaron relaxed into him and kissed him back with loving force.

...

- Hey guys, thankyou for all your reviews so far, I hope you lot liked that? :) that personally for me will be a brilliant end if you think it should be but also I'm willing to continue if you want so it's up to you guys...

TBC or End?

Let me know! xxx