"He's not talking to us again", Helen stated as she sat down at the dining table with a bag of crisps.

"I noticed", Gabe sighed.

"Should we ask him?" Helen asked.

"Do you think that we should? It seemed like we hit a breakthrough yesterday until those kids picked on him," Gabe stated.

Helen opened her mouth to answer Gabe's question, but the sound of a terrified scream sounded throughout the house, causing Gabe and Helen to jump to their feet and run towards the screaming. Helen threw the door open and switched the light on. The sight that met her eyes broke her heart; Philip was sat up in bed, his back against the wall whilst tears streamed down his cheeks.

"He made me watch! He shot you, and he made me watch!" Philip sobbed.

Helen rushed over and sat on the bed whilst Gabe sat on the chair at the desk "What do you need?"

Philip sniffled whilst he thought about Helen's question "A hug?"

"Come here then" Helen opened her arms out, inviting Philip in for a hug.

Philip hesitated, but he moved and allowed Helen to hug him "Why won't it stop?"

"I wish that I knew the answer to that," Helen answered honestly.

"I know that it probably doesn't help much, but time will help. Me and Helen are here for you, whatever you need," Gabe promised as Philip looked at him.

"What if it doesn't? I don't want to be like this. What if I turn out like my mum?" The thought of Anne and her addiction caused Philip to cry harder.

"I promise you that things will get better and you won't turn out like your mum. You've got us and Lukas to support you through this, and if what we try doesn't work, we'll think of a different plan" Gabe leaned forwards as he tried to reassure Philip.

"Are you sure that you both still want me? I'd get it if you want to send me back," Philip said, but the thought of being unwanted broke his heart.

"Hey, we're having none of that", Helen spoke up, causing Philip to look at her "This is your home, and we love you."

Philip sniffled, and he nodded "I love you guys too".

"Do you want to try going back to sleep, or do you want to come and watch a movie with us for a bit?" Gabe asked, knowing Philip may struggle to sleep after a nightmare.

"Can I stay up with you guys?" Philip asked.

"I'll make some popcorn" Gabe smiled gently as he stood up and walked out of the room.

"We better go and sit down before Gabe nicks the comfy spot on the sofa," Helen said as she stood up, still hugging Philip.

"Thank you", Philip sniffled.

"You don't have to thank us. Just promise me that you'll talk to us and tell us what you need," Helen said as Philip pulled back from hugging her.

"I promise" Philip nodded.

"That's all I needed to know". Helen smiled gently at Philip.

Helen felt conflicted, to say the least; she wanted to help Philip through the trauma that he had experienced, but she was still learning how to be a mother. She had just figured out how to be a foster mum, but her world was turned upside down again when Anne died, projecting her into a completely new situation of supporting Philip through a flood of emotions whilst social services appeared on her doorstep and informed her that Philip was to be moved into a group home now that the temporary placement of living with Helen and Gabe was not a suitable arrangement. Helen thought about how she had shaken her head and decided there and then to start the process of adopting Philip. Gabe had been more than happy with the new arrangement. Still, he had experienced feelings of uncertainty as social services informed him that Philip would be required to have new medical insurance, attend regular appointments with a therapist and that the city had repossessed Anne's house, which meant that they had less than twenty-four hours to move all of Philip's stuff and whatever he wanted to keep out of the house.

Gabe and Helen did not know how Philip had been able to go into that house and pack up boxes filled with his and Anne's stuff. The three of them felt an energy as soon as they walked into the small house; it was suffocating. Gabe had noticed how Philip had almost gone into a state of autopilot whilst he was in that house. The feeling was surreal, and it was only whilst they were driving home that the tears finally escaped from Philip's eyes. Gabe and Helen would never be able to forget the agonised crying that they heard coming from the backseat. They had pulled over on the side of the road to focus all of their attention on Philip. All they could do was sit on the side of the road and hug the boy as he sobbed into Gabe's shoulder.

And now, at 1 am on a Wednesday night, they were sitting in the living room, watching a movie with Philip to comfort him after another nightmare. Gabe on one side of the couch, Philip in the middle and Helen on the other side with blankets over them as they watched an action sci-fi movie that Gabe had picked.

"This movie is a classic" Gabe smiled as he paused the movie halfway through "Does anyone want anything?" He asked as he stood up

"Gabe", Helen whispered, catching Gabe's attention.

Gave looked at Helen and smiled softly when he saw that Philip was asleep with his head on Helen's shoulder "We can rewatch it tomorrow". He moved and carefully scooped Philip up.

"He's fast asleep, but we'll leave the doors open in case he needs us", Helen stated.

Gabe nodded as he began to carry Philip towards the staircase, Helen following after turning the tv off. Gabe was cautious when carrying Philip up the stairs and when gently laying him down on his bed.

Helen came into the room and plugged something into the wall, causing Gabe to look in her direction "He had it whilst he lived in the city. I thought that it might help him a bit like it did before".

Gabe smiled and nodded as Helen turned the nightlight on. "Good idea" he then turned back to Philip and pulled the duvet over him, being careful not to wake him up.

"He'll be okay", Helen stated, almost trying to reassure herself.

"Well, he does have us", Gabe pointed out. "Come on, let's go to bed".

Gabe and Helen crept out of the room and gently closed the door before they walked to their bedroom to get some much-needed sleep. Thankfully, Philip managed to sleep through the rest of the night, but the relief was short-lived when he eventually woke up and had the realisation that he would have to endure another day at school without Lukas being with him.

Meanwhile, Lukas yawned as he woke up to Bo walking into the room with a brown lunch bag. His father looked as though he had barely slept, and the dark circles under his eyes made Lukas feel guilty for everything that had transpired over the last few weeks.

"I know that it's not exactly like how your mom used to make it, but I've brought you some breakfast," Bo said as he placed the bag on the bedside table.

"Thanks, Dad" Lukas glanced at Bo as he slowly sat up.

"How are you feeling, son?" Bo asked as he sat in the chair next to Luka's hospital bed.

"Better than I was last week", Lukas answered with a scoff, causing Bo to smile slightly.

"The doctor said that you can go home tomorrow, once they've checked your stitches", Bo stated, the relief evident on his face and in his voice.

"It's about time. Someone was walking around last night whilst yelling something about an antichrist," Lukas stated as he raised both eyebrows.

"You're mom always did say that hospitals were weird at night", Bo said as he leaned back in his chair, "Especially full moons for some reason".

"It felt like I was in a TV program", Lukas said as he looked at Bo "Have you heard from Helen and Gabe?"

Bo shook his head "Helen said that Philip didn't sleep very well last night but that he's gone to school" he then sighed "We need to talk about what's going on with you and Philip".

"It's nothing," Lukas said quickly in a panic.

"I'm not that oblivious, Lukas. I saw Philip kiss you, and I know that you two have been sneaking around for weeks," Bo stated.

Lukas sighed and sniffled. "I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know why I had these feelings. Everything just happened, and I thought that you wouldn't get it".

Bo sighed and nodded "I'll admit that it was a shock to find out about everything, but seeing you in that coma and bleeding in that ambulance was a bigger shock. I love you and want to support you, so tell me if I say anything homophobic or something like that, and I'll work on it".

Lukas nodded "I think that I'm bi, I was attracted to Rose, but I love Philip, and I can't live without him".

Bo nodded slowly as he wrapped his brain to try and understand what Lukas was telling him "You have my full support, and I will try my best to understand".

Lukas nodded as his eyes filled with tears.

"Philip seems like a nice lad," Bo said as he smiled gently.

"He's amazing", Lukas smiled as he sniffled and wiped away his tears "I don't know what I'd do without him".