Chapter Five-

He knew he was in serious trouble.

You don't hit women. You don't hit anymore in the Navy unless it's in self-defence.

Hitting Nikki didn't fit in that category.

Now he was trapped in his quarters, not only dealing with his visible outer demons, but the ones that were also warring within him.

He hadn't told Nikki what he'd done…

He couldn't even believe it himself…

He knocked on the door, nervous beyond belief. He wished he'd told Nikki what he was doing, but he needed to do this. A young woman opened the door.

"Hi. What can I help you with today?" She asked. She seemed friendly enough.

"I'm looking for Anna or James Holiday. Are they in?" He asked.

"I'll just get them for you. Mum? Dad! There's someone at the door for you!" Shouted the blonde haired girl. Anna appeared at the doorway.

"Who is it…" Anna trailed off as she looked at Jonathen's face.

"Wh… How did you find us?" She asked, her face paling visibly. James appeared behind her.

"It's a long story. Can I come in?" He asked meekly. James opened the door.

"You've got some explaining to do." Jono followed James and Anna into the loungeroom. The young girl who had first answered the door appeared in the entrance to the living area.

"Mum, Amelia's on the phone, wants to know if you're free to chat," said the girl.

"Clare, tell Amelia to leave the kids with Leon, and to get over here. She's going to want to hear this," said Anna quietly. Clare left the room, talking on the phone, and Anna moved towards the kitchen.

"Would you like a tea? A coffee perhaps?" She asked.

"A coffee would be nice thank you," replied Jono. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach, and desperately wished he had changed his mind and told Nikki what he was doing. Anna disappeared, and Clare returned.

"Mia's on her way over. She'll be here in ten minutes. What's going on?" Asked Clare.

"Wait until your sister gets here, and then we can tell you both at once. Can you help your mother in the kitchen please?" Asked James. Clare glanced at the oddly familiar stranger in their living room, and went to help her mother. Seven minutes later, Amelia was letting herself inside the front door.

"Daddy? Clare said I needed to get over here. What's the…" She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Jono, and brought her hand to her mouth.

"Oh no. No no," she whispered. She took a seat next to her father, feeling weak at the knees. Anna and Clare returned to the odd gathering, and passed out the tea and coffee.

"Mum, who is this?" Asked Amelia. Anna glanced at James, and he nodded.

"It's time they knew An. We can't keep it a secret anymore. We promise we would tell them eventually," said James.

"Tell us what?" Demanded Clare. Anna set down her tea on the table, and clasped her hands together.

"Three years before your father and I got married, I found out I was pregnant. I freaked out, and I was going to terminate the pregnancy. Your father convinced me not to, and I let the pregnancy continue. We found a family willing to adopt our baby, and we knew that was the best possible option. We weren't ready to be parents yet, and it was the only option we could think of. Our baby was handed over to Hannah and Geoffrey Long, with our only stipulation being that the baby's name had to be Jonathen." Anna stopped to take a breath.

"Clare, Amelia, this is your brother Jonathen." Amelia just sat and shook her head, not wanting to believe a word of what was being said. Clare just appeared angry.

"You've kept a secret like this from us for how long? How can he even be my brother? I feel like you're making this up, to make the loss of Josh a little easier. He only looks like a Holiday, but he's not," spat Clare. She stalked past him.

"I don't ever want to see you here again. You don't belong to this family, and you won't ever belong." Amelia didn't even speak, the tears falling down her face gently. She grabbed her handbag and left, audibly sobbing.

"Jonathen. I'm so sorry this didn't work out today," said Anna gently. He nodded; he hadn't formed any thoughts as to how he thought things would go. Anna dabbed her eyes with a tissue, and left the room to talk to Clare. James stood up.

"I think it may be best if you leave." Jono knew his time was up then; they had no more they wanted to say. He stood up stiffly, shook his biological father's hand and left…

He had drinks with Nikki that evening…

She'd never realised how fragile he was feeling…

And he'd never tell.

Jono punched the wall in his quarters, and regretted it almost instantly when the pain flooded his hand. He leant against the wall, and felt hot tears prick his eyes. He didn't care about being a man; he just cared about how much the people around him had managed to hurt him.

He'd give anything to take back what had happened the past two days.

Including hitting Nikki…

Remorse flooded him as he realised what he had done to Nikki, and the tears only fell faster.

"Buffer, we've got to get back to Hammersley," said Spider.

"And we will mate, don't worry about it. Just look after Anderson and Bird; I'm going to try and make radio contact. I'm going to need to move from here though." Spider nodded and crouched down in front of Bird and Anderson, guarding the best he could. Buffer crept out of their hiding place, and caught sight of their RHIB. It had been totalled, destroyed beyond repair.

He needed to get them out, and fast.

"Bravo 82 to Charlie 82. Boss, we're alive, but we've got no way of getting out of here. The RHIB's been destroyed, and we've got wounded," reported Buffer.

"Charlie 82 to Bravo 82, it's good to hear your voice again Buffer. I've got a secondary team on standby, armed and prepared. Charge is leading it. What's the status of the rest of the team?" Asked Mike.

"Anderson's been shot in the arm, Bird's been hit in the chest. Kevlar's stopped the bullet, but she's having a bit of trouble breathing. Spider's okay for now, but we need out Boss, and the sooner the better. All hell is breaking loose," replied Buffer, glancing around, keeping watch. Mike gave Kelly the go-ahead, and she disappeared off the bridge.

"Buff, we're sending help. Stay covered where you are, and we'll get you out of there Buffer. You just need to hold on," urged Mike.

"Will do Boss. Over and out." Buffer crept back to the small gathering, and found Bird nursing an unconscious and bleeding Spider.

"What happened?" Whispered Buffer furiously.

"One of the Samaruan's spotted him, and hit him with his gun. He's bleeding Buff, and I can't wake him up," said Bird, clearly stressed.

"Help is on the way Bird, we just have to ride it out," said Buffer.

"I don't know how much longer Logan can hold on. He's lost a fair amount of blood," said Bird, reaching back to stroke his dark hair. He winced, even with his eyes closed.

"Hammersley is sending the other RHIB to us to get us out. We can hold on. Anderson can hold on." An armed Samaruan appeared near the team, and cocked his gun.

"Stupid Navy! Always interfere!"

All it took was one shot…

A shot that echoed across the water…

And it turned a goodwill visit into a desperate rescue mission for one of their own…