'Matt, wake up' Christian says as he gently shakes me. I open my eyes and look at him with bewilderment. 'Hey, little bro, it's time to wake up.'

'Already, I've just fallen asleep.' I say sleepily.

'You've had just over two hours' he says 'The doctor wants to come and check on you.' He adds and goes to the door. A doctor and nurse come in straight away. They do all the usual checks, pulse, blood pressure, temperature. They check my scar and feel my back; it's not as tender as it was.

'When you get out of here you'll still need to take it easy. You can swim gently from Friday but that is the only exercise for now. We'll need you back here next Monday to check you out and for blood tests. If you get any pain in your chest, shoulder or stomach you need to come back immediately. Have you got any questions?' the doctor asks me and looks at Christian as well.

'No' I say and Christian shakes his head.

'OK, you're good to go.' The doctor says smiling at me.

'What now?' I ask.

'Yes, you might as well go now. Remember though, don't try and do too much.'

'Thank you.' I say. Christian also thanks him for everything and shakes his hand. The doctor leaves and I climb off the bed.

'Did you arrange this?' I ask Christian.

'Yes, I thought it would be easier to leave tonight before the press try and get hold of any more information. The girls have already gone out so there won't be any fussing at home. Elliot has taken all your stuff in his car and gone to Escala, there's just these clothes left for you to change into.' Christian says.

'Thanks Christian' I say giving him a quick hug before quickly changing in front of him into my jeans, shirt and converse from earlier. 'I'm ready, let's go.'

'That was quick, are you desperate to be somewhere.'

'Yes, anywhere but here.' I say with a grin.

'Come on then, I've parked in mom's space so it's not too far to walk. Don't text Hannah, the girls have no idea and I'd rather keep it that way so that they enjoy their night out otherwise they'll only come back early and ruin our boys night in.' he says smiling at me.

I go to grab the small backpack that I've just stuffed my t-shirt and pyjama bottoms in but Christian takes it off me. I look at him and he smirks at me.

'It's not heavy; will you let me do anything?' I ask him.

'Soon, but not on the way out of hospital.' He says as we leave the room. We thank the doctor and nurses again on the way out and then we are in the fresh air. I breathe deeply; glad to be outside in the cool evening air. I climb into the front passenger seat and fasten the seat belt, closing my eyes. Christian climbs into the driver's seat; I open an eye to look at him. He's staring at me intently as I knew he would be.

'Matt, are you OK? Are you happy I've done the right thing in getting you out early?'

'Yes, I want to be in a proper bed to sleep. I want to feel normal again. I was getting frustrated with everything in that room.'

'You will tell me straight away though if you feel the slightest bit ill, I don't want any risks or the panic that there was last Sunday evening.'

'Yes I will tell you.' I say

'I mean it Matt, no risks with your health. We will swim together on Friday if you feel up to it.' He says as he pulls out of the parking lot.

'I probably won't.'

'Why?'

'Because I won't' I say sullenly. He doesn't push it any further and he puts some music on to fill the silence. It's not long before we are pulling into the underground car park at Escala. I open my door as Christian switches the engine off and climb out. Heading towards the elevator Christian catches up with me and presses the button, and we both enter in silence. As the elevator ascends he looks at me.

'Elliot is cooking something to eat.' He smirks at me.

'Is that wise?' I say grinning back at him, 'Mrs Jones will have a fit when she sees the kitchen. Even if we try and clean up after him it won't be to her standard.' Elliot is a great cook, we'll be eating well but the kitchen will have descended into chaos, every pan and utensil will have been used and he certainly won't have cleaned whilst he worked.

'He'll be happy; it will have kept him occupied.' Christian says as we exit the elevator. As soon as he opens the door to the great room I can see the mess that we predicted, however dinner smells good and I'm looking forward to the chicken curry he has made.

'Hey little bro, great to see you.' Elliot says coming over and giving me a hug. 'Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes.' He adds as he goes back to the kitchen.

''I'm going to have a quick shower; I'll put this backpack in your room.' Christian says.

I stand in the middle of the Great room, at a loss as what to do. Eventually I go and settle on the piano stool and get lost in the sad tune that I play. I feel Christian's presence at my shoulder and shift up to make room for him. As he sits next to me he gives me a questioning look. I start to play something more upbeat and he grins before joining me.

'Better?' he asks. I nod. 'Let's go and eat.' He says placing an affectionate arm around my shoulder.

Elliot has done a great job on dinner, just not on the kitchen.

'Has Kate not taught you to clean up after yourself yet?' Christian asks Elliot.

'No, and she can't cook either so if she ever moves in with me I think I'll need a housekeeper rather than just a cleaner.' Elliot says smiling.

'Oh, so it's getting serious between the pair of you.' Christian says.

''Yes, more serious than I've ever been with anyone else.' Elliot says. Christian looks at me and smiles and I grin back at him. Elliot adds 'What are you to smiling about, just because I messed about in the past doesn't mean I was never going to settle down. I think she is the one.' Wow I think he might be finally in love. The conversation moves on and we talk about the Mariners.

'We haven't been to a game for a while, shall we go to one soon, we could ask dad as well. The girls are going to be busy over the next few weeks sorting out the wedding so it will give us some time together.' Christian says. His blackberry vibrates and as he checks it he frowns before replying.

'Ana?' I ask him.

'No Sawyer. They're in the bar having cocktails but Mia is trying to persuade them all to go clubbing. I knew our darling sister would be a bad influence.' Christian replies. 'I've replied to tell Sawyer no but I'll let Ana know as well.'

'OK, was my phone in my bag?' I ask him.

'Yes, I'll go and get it for you as I need to call Welch.' He says rising from the table. I start clearing the plates up.

'Leave them' Elliot says 'I wonder why he needs to speak to Welch now. I'll text Kate and make sure everything is OK.'

'Thanks for dinner Elliot. It was good.' I say.

'No worries, shall we go and thrash Christian on the Xbox; you know how it annoys him how we can play and he can't.' he says smiling at me. I grin back at him as Christian appears with my phone.

'What are you two planning?' Christian asks.

'Xbox' Elliot replies smirking at him.

Christian groans before replying 'Only if I get to choose the game.'

'That's fine' I say whilst reading my texts that have started coming through. There's quite a few as I haven't had it switched on for days. 'Oh, I think Hannah is mad with me. When we went out for pizza a last week I told her that Sawyer was our driver and of course tonight she finds out he's security. I think I'll just ignore it, she won't think I have my phone switched on.'

'By the time she's had a few cocktails she'll have forgotten and when she gets back here tonight she'll be just so happy to see you that she won't care.' Elliot says as we walk into the TV room and he switches everything on. I settle myself on the sofa; Christian and Elliot are either side of me. They have chosen a car racing game that I'm not overly fussed about and I'm trailing way behind after the first race.

'Come on bro, you need to pick it up or Christian will beat you.' Elliot says.

'I might just watch you two battle it out, I'm not in the mood for this game tonight.' I say.

'OK, we'll have one more race and then switch to something you like.' Elliot says.

'I don't mind watching, it's actually amusing seeing you two fight it out.' I say.

'Only because I might actually win today because you two aren't trying to push me off the track.' Christian says. They start the race and I watch for as long as I can before closing my eyes. My brothers are in a jovial mood and are teasing each other as they play. I drift in and out of sleep. Elliot and Christian have obviously left me to it and continued with their games and have started drinking beer as well now, the bottles lined up on the coffee table. Christian's phone vibrates; he has had plenty of texts tonight. I think they are all from Sawyer keeping him updated with events from the girls.

'The girls are still having cocktails but have finally ordered some food. Are you and Kate staying here tonight? I dread to think what state they will be in and I'd rather Mia stayed either here or with you instead of returning to Bellevue on her own.' Christian says.

'I'll probably head home with Kate; we'll take Mia with us. Will Sawyer drop us off and I'll collect the car tomorrow?' Elliot asks.

'Yes he will. I need to speak with Ana about what happened earlier with Hannah and her ex.' Christian says.

'Is that why you needed to speak to Welch?' Elliot asks.

'Yes, they had trouble with him last week and Matt punched him. Luckily he's not going back to school with them next semester. He's been offered a football scholarship. I think I'll send Taylor to visit him and warn him off though.' Christian says.

'What happened?' I ask.

'You heard, I thought you were asleep. Sorry Matt, I didn't want you to know.' Christian says.

'What happened with that fucker?' I say angrily.

'He was in the bar but the four of them hadn't noticed him and when Hannah went to the restrooms he followed her and made a pass at her. Sawyer caught him trying to kiss her but she was trying to push him away.' Christian says 'I'm sorry Matt.'

'I'll fucking kill him. I thought he would have learnt to stay away after last time.' I say and grab my phone.

'Matt, stay calm. Who are you phoning?' Elliot asks looking at Christian with a worried look.

'Hannah, I want her back here now. She was angry earlier with me because I didn't tell her the truth about Sawyer but I'm so angry with her now, she didn't tell me this had happened. Did she think I wouldn't find out?' I snap. Christian takes the phone out of my hand.

'Calm down. Hannah was upset. The others have sorted her out and they are having a good time. They are just going to have something to eat and then will be coming home. Sawyer made sure Jordan left the bar so he won't bother them again tonight and Taylor will see him tomorrow. It's not Hannah's fault.' Christian says.

'No it's mine. I shouldn't have said she could go.' I say

'Matt, stop. This isn't like you.' Christian says.

'No but it's like you Christian. You would have said and done the same had it been Ana.' Elliot pipes up.

'Too right, if anyone had done that to Ana I'd be so mad.' Christian says.

'You're both cross now.' Elliot says. We stop and look at him knowing that he's right.

I stand and walk out of the TV room as they continue the conversation but I'm not listening. In my ensuite I strip off and stand under the shower, the water hammering my head. It doesn't make me feel any better. After drying I sit in the chair in the corner of the room, my elbows resting on my knees and my head in my hands. This is how Christian finds me.

'Hey, are you still angry?' he asks.

'No' I say looking at him warily. 'Why didn't she tell me?'

'Because she thinks you're still in hospital and she won't want to worry you.' Christian says gently.

'Her stuff isn't in this room; does she still want to be with me?' I ask.

'Matt she is desperately in love with you. Stop having doubts. She's been in one of the guest rooms upstairs. This room is yours and it's up to you if you want her to share it with you. I didn't want to make that decision for you.'

'Thank you.' I say.

'You're welcome. I think you need to exercise so that you can rid of some of this anger.' He says gently.

'I can't right now.' I mutter.

'I know, but on Friday you can.'

'No.' I say and look at him with wide eyes.

'You're scared' he says and I nod. 'I'll be with you'

'No, I can't.' I whisper.

'The scar?' he asks. I nod. 'Matt, we'll go when everyone is at work, the pool will be empty. Once you've been once it will be easier the second time.'

'People will stare.' I say quietly.

'No they won't.' He says forcefully causing me to look at him. 'I know where you're coming from, I thought that with mine.' I look at him questionably and he takes his t-shirt off. 'See I do know.'

'I never notice them, they've always been here' I whisper.

'That's why I understand.' He whispers back and puts his t-shirt back on. 'We'll get through this together and we'll swim on Friday'

'OK I'll swim with you.' I say.

'Good, let's go and see what chaos Elliot is causing now, a few beers and he's decided to clean the kitchen.' He says and as I stand he gives me a hug. 'Remember I'm here for you.'

'Thanks Christian.' I say as we wander back into the Great room. Elliot has done quite a good job; he's loaded everything into the dishwasher and wiped all the surfaces so at least Mrs Jones will be a bit happier in the morning. Elliot hands Christian another beer and looks at me but I shake my head. I help myself to some fruit juice from the fridge.

'Christian have you got any ice cream?' I ask.

'There's probably some in the freezer somewhere but I'm not sure if it's vanilla.' He says, no sign of the teasing that might have been there a week ago. I open the freezer and only find a cookie dough one but it will have to do. 'Is your throat sore? Christian asks, I nod. 'What about the rest of you?'

'Everything's fine, it's just my throat. This will help.' I say taking the carton and sitting on a bar stool at the breakfast bar. 'What time are the girls due home?'

'They planned about eleven so just over an hour. They've just finished eating and are having one last drink.' Christian says. 'Are you tired?'

'Yes, but I want to see Hannah.' I say.

'Matt, you know you'll have to stay calm and not get cross with Hannah.' Christian says and Elliot nods. 'It wasn't her fault.'

'I know' I say quietly.

'Would it be better if you went to bed and saw her in the morning or we'll send her in to see you. The girls are going to be loud and will be over excited when they get here and realise we're here and you're home. They will end up fussing over you.' Elliot says.

'Yes that's a good idea, I'll go to bed now, Hannah can come and wake me up. Thanks for tonight both of you.' I say as I stand and take the ice cream carton to put in the trash. They head for the big comfy sofas as I go to my room and bed.

I'm woken by Christian shouting at someone, I think it's Ana. 'What the fuck happened earlier tonight? How come she was on her own going to the restrooms? She needs protecting. If that had happened to you I'd have been so fucking angry and I'd have dragged you back here straight away. I managed to calm Matt down but he was upset and he doesn't need this right now.'

Hannah hasn't been in to see me so I pull some sweat pants on and go into the Great room. As I'm leaving my room Ana is going into her and Christian's room but she doesn't see me, I think she's in tears. Christian is stood by the piano, pulling his fingers through his hair.

'You told me to stay calm.' I say.

'Sorry did I wake you.' He asks.

'Yes, and you've upset Ana, she's gone into your room in tears. Christian you told me it wasn't Hannah's fault so how can you blame Ana. It was just one of those things, it was a coincidence that Jordan was in the bar and he hassled Hannah but luckily Sawyer was there to deal with him. We can't blame the girls, please don't be angry after everyone has had a good evening. Go and find Ana and make sure she is ok, please.' I say.

'OK, and I'm sorry for waking you. Hannah came to see you but she didn't want to wake you. I think she was scared you might be angry when she found out you knew about tonight. She's in the guest room upstairs at the far end on the left.' He says.

'I'll go and find her; I want to make sure she's OK. I might stay up there tonight. It will give you and Ana some space; you don't want me in the room next door.' I say grinning at him.

'You're getting cheeky again. Go and find her but remember to take it easy.' He says smirking.

'I won't be doing anything, mom gave me a lecture and I have to wait a week.'

'Oh, so no kissing, no sex and no working out. Jeez Matt your life is tough at the moment.'

'I know, but just think how good it's going to be from next week and it will only get better.' I say grinning and then head off to find my girl, leaving Christian going to his room.

I climb the stairs and make my way into the guest room that Hannah has been using. Pushing open the door I can hear that she is in the shower so I go to the bed. When she comes out I grin at her.

'Hi Baby, it's good to see you.' I say smiling at her.

'Matt' she says and launches herself onto the bed next to me. 'I've missed having you around'

'I've missed being around baby.' I say pulling her towards me and hugging her. 'I am so desperate to kiss you properly.' I say and kiss her neck and then move down to her breasts. She groans.

'Matt, I'm desperate for you to kiss me as well but I've had the lectures and we can't do anything at the moment.'

'I know baby, I'm going to be so frustrated.' I whisper as I slip a finger inside her 'You're so ready.'

'I know, but you can stop now, we're not doing anything until both of us can. Let's just cuddle up together and sleep tonight. It will just be good to lie together and have you next to me.'

'OK baby, I love you.' I say rolling her over so that her back is to my chest.

'I love you to, and I'm so happy to have you here now.' She says.

'Sleep' I murmur, kissing the back of her head as I close my eyes.