A/N thank you 'Guest' for the review :) Now this chapter is a little more fast-paced, a lot of time skipping. Mainly cause I couldn't find a way of writing 8 months of Dylan in hiding. Little bit of a warning, Dylan is a teenage boy, teenagers swear. Deal with it :D Happy reading!

The weeks turned into months, Dylan gave up asking questions. It was clear the police officer wasn't going to let him in on his plan. His dad had been arrested for the hospital murders with Freddie Roscoe's appearance at the safe house. Dylan had no memory of who was in the hospital room in his 'final' moments, but he didn't think his dad was responsible, even if they didn't see eye to eye all the time.

The young teen looked up, hearing movements and a hushed argument. "How come he gets to go out but I don't?" He questioned, looking at an irritated DS Thorpe and a drunk Freddie Roscoe.

"I escaped, kid." Freddie smirked, leaving the room.

"I want to go home. I know my dad didn't kill those people, and why would he attack me?"

"Well unless you can prove otherwise, Mr Royle, I'm afraid your father is going away for a very long time." Thorpe looked at him. "Start remembering what happened to you."

Dylan sighed heavily.

"I understand your loyalty. But sometimes loyalty is misplaced, even in family."

"But it doesn't make sense."

"I think you should get some rest and try not to think about it. It won't do any good going over old ground looking for an answer you won't get."

Dylan nodded resignedly, walking out to go to his room.

Christmas passed uneventfully for Dylan, apart from the unexpected death of Ziggy Roscoe. Yet another argument between Freddie and the police officer about attending the funeral.

"Why don't you go, but stay back, they don't need to see you." He suggested to the older Roscoe.

Freddie shrugged. He knew Dylan had a point. "Wouldn't be the same. I need to stand with my brothers as a family, not apart from them."

"And if you don't what then? Beat yourself up for not going?"

Freddie sighed.

"Look, with everything going on I'm close to going back there myself and putting everything straight. You do what you have to."

"Yeah. You're right. You know what that's exactly what I'm gonna do. I can't believe I'm takin' advice from a fifteen year old kid!"

Dylan just smirked, rolling his eyes. "Yeah well one of us has to think about the shit we're in and deal with it."

"I'm gonna stop arguin' in front of you." Freddie laughed. "Didn't swear much before I turned up."

"Yeah that's what you think. I just didn't do it a lot is all."

Thorpe had finally agreed to let them out of witness protection. Dylan knew all along Trevor wasn't involved in the killings.

Dylan made his way through the village. Looking around, he knew this place would feel like home again, he just had to get used to it after eight months in hiding. His appearance had changed very little in the time he'd been away, deciding to do away with the red in his hair and let his hair grow back, looking more like a normal kid than his previous image. He spotted Peri walking with a girl and he ran over to her. "Peri!"

Peri stopped talking, looking away from Jade and she looked straight at him, a flicker of recognition on her face.

"It's me...Dylan."

Peri shook her head, looking confused. "You're...-"

"Yeah, not dead. Long story."

She unlinked her arm from Jade's and slapped him across the face. "D'you have any idea what you did to us?! To Nico!" she snapped.

Dylan rubbed his cheek. "Yeah I deserved that... But listen!" he grabbed her arm to stop her from walking away. "Please?"

Peri scowled, her shoulders dropping. "Go on then? Why pretend to be dead? What did we bury if it wasn't you?"

Jade looked confused, her impending appointment at the hospital forgotten for a moment as she watched the scene unfold.

"I was waking up. Thorpe noticed and he took me away, got me to another hospital so they could save me. Then he put me in witness protection, said someone tried to kill me. Trouble is, I don't remember what happened, so..." he trailed off.

"So why didn't he let you come back? Tell us you were ok?"

He shrugged. "I never understood why myself. Said something about an investigation at the hospital and that was it."

"Nico's gonna kill you for this."

"I know... You'll protect me, right?" He gave her his cheekiest grin.

She shoved him lightly, smiling. "You're an idiot." she said and hugged him.

He hugged back. "I'd better get it over and done with...Where is she?" he released her.

She looked at Jade. "Uh... she's in hospital." she said, looking back at him. "Jade has an appointment and we were gonna see her after."

"Why? What happened?"

Peri didn't want to answer.

"Heart attack." Jade spoke up. "She didn't take her medication properly and that's what caused it."

"Come on. You can leave us to see her once we get there." Peri said afterward, linking her arm with Jade's again and the three set off to the hospital. Once there, Peri pointed in the direction of Nico's room before leaving with Jade.

Dylan watched the two girls leave him and he made his way toward the room where Nico was. He eventually found it, seeing her alone in the room, lying in the bed hooked up to a machine, and he slowly entered. "Hey, you."

Nico looked up from her phone at the voice, and her phone dropped from her hand. She looked at him with her eyes wide and questioning, a mixture of emotions on her face. "This isn't fair..." she whispered.

Dylan swallowed hard trying to rid the lump in his throat and he slowly walked toward her. "What isn't?"

"You're not real. You're dead." She shook her head, looking up at the face she recognised, a face she knew belonged to the boy she loved so much and grieved for.

He sat on the edge of her bed and gently touched her hand. "You feel real to me."

"Stop it!" she snapped, pulling it away. She was torn between wanting to believe it and not wanting to.

"No."

"Why are you doing this?" Her voice cracked.

"Cause I came back."

Nico looked up at him again, she could feel herself about to burst into tears. "Why? Why now?"

"I missed you." He held her hand again. "I'm here. I'm real. And I came back."

She pushed herself up and hugged him fiercely.

He hugged back tightly.