Robert and Aaron had their eyes closed as they clung onto each other. Aaron was starting to hyperventilate and his head started to spin, he tried to bury his head into Robert's chest but it did not stop the feeling of everything spinning around. Aaron tried to calm his breathing but his chest felt tight and it became hard for him to breath.
"Robert..." Aaron managed to get out.
Robert opened his eyes and he looked at his husband. He noticed that Aaron was breathing heavily and he could feel him shaking in his arms "What's wrong babe?" he asked.
Aaron lifted his arm and he clutched his chest "I can't breath" He gasped.
Robert realised what was going on "It's okay, you're okay. Just force yourself to breath like me".
"It's hard. My head feels like it's spinning" Aaron put his hands on his head as a natural reaction.
"Shut up" Chrissie snarled.
"Aaron! Aaron listen to me" Robert placed his hands on Aaron's shoulders "Try and breath slowly".
"Robert!" Aaron started to cry "Make it stop, Robert make it stop" he sobbed.
"Shut up! Shut him up!" Chrissie yelled at Robert as she pointed the gun directly at Aaron.
Robert looked up at Chrissie with anger in his eyes "He's having a panic attack Chrissie! There isn't an off switch that I can magically flick to help him!" He snapped at the woman before he turned back to Aaron "Do you want me to hold you?" he asked.
Aaron frantically nodded because he knew that Robert could not do a lot. "I want it to stop. It's scaring me" Aaron sobbed.
Robert wrapped his arms around his husband and started to stroke his hair "Sshh it's alright. It'll stop soon. Sshh" Robert tried to calm his husband.
Aaron clung onto Robert "Don't let me go, Rob. Please don't let me go" he sobbed.
"I'll never let you go. I'll never leave you" Robert kissed Aaron's head and stroked his hair.
"Oh please. You've led him to his doom. It's because of you that I'm holding a gun to his head" Chrissie scoffed as she pressed the barrel of the gun to the back of Aaron's head.
"Get that gun away from my head!" Aaron flinched.
"Get that fuckin gun away from him" Robert snarled as he pulled Aaron away from Chrissie.
"I'll give you both chance to say goodbye to each other" Chrissie grinned.
Robert and Aaron were both crying and they were already very weak from smoke inhalation. Aaron was suffering through a panic attack and his wounded wrist stung like it was being attacked by a thousand killer bees.
"Aaron..." Robert sniffled as tears streamed down his face "Close your eyes, baby".
Aaron looked up at Robert "But I need to see you" he cried.
Robert stroked Aaron's cheek "Trust me, Aaron. Please close your eyes, baby. I don't want you to see her shoot me" Robert sobbed.
Aaron nodded and he wiped away Robert's tears with his thumb.
"Thank you. Hold onto to me now" Robert said in soft voice, but in actual fact all he wanted to do was burst into tears and scream.
Aaron hugged Robert and closed his eyes tightly as Robert stroked his hair and cooed in his ear. "I love you Robert" Aaron sobbed.
"I love you too baby. I love you more than anything. I'm so sorry for doing this to you" Robert kissed Aaron's head and buried his face in his husband's hair "Please forgive me".
"There's nothing to forgive. We protect each other. It's the way we're wired" Aaron kissed Robert's chest.
Chrissie lifted the gun and placed it against Robert's head.
Robert cried harder when he felt a gun pressed against his head again. All of the memories of being kidnapped by Gordon hit him all at once. He burst into tears when he remembered all of the pain that he had gone through for eighteen hours. He remembered how he was alone, in an abandoned building and that he nearly died at the hands of Gordon Livesy.
Aaron felt Robert trembling so he pulled back and kissed him on the lips "We'll be alright. I'll always be with you" he whispered as he hugged Robert again.
"I love you Aaron. I love you so much baby" Robert sobbed.
"I love you two handsome" Aaron whispered as he kissed Robert's chest again.
"Three... two... one..." Chrissie grinned.
Suddenly two police officers grabbed Chrissie and pulled her away from Aaron and Robert as Jason Wise grabbed the gun and unloaded it.
"Get off of me! You can't do this!" Chrissie fought against the arms of the police officers.
Aaron and Robert opened their eyes but they still held onto each other. Both men were trembling in each other's arms as they watched two police officers restrain Chrissie.
"Chrissie White I am arresting you for the ordered attack on Aaron Dingle, the ordered attack on both Aaron Dingle and Robert Sugden, the crime of Arson and contempt to commit murder against Robert Sugden and contempt to commit homicide on Aaron Dingle and Robert Sugden. You do not have to say anything, anything that you say or do can be used against you in a court of law. You are initialled to an attorney if you cannot afford an attorney one will be provided for you" Jason Wise said as he handcuffed Chrissie's hands behind her back and an officer escorted her to a squad car. Jason then walked over to Aaron and Robert, he crouched down in front of them and he smiled kindly at the couple "It's alright now. We've got her, you're both safe".
Aaron and Robert both burst into tears of joy and relief as they hugged. Jason patted Aaron on the shoulder before he stood up to go and talk to Lachlan. Robert cradled Aaron's face in his hands and they passionately kissed. Aaron wrapped his arms around Robert's neck and kissed him back. When their lips parted they stood up and hugged just as Lachlan was arrested for physical assault against Aaron all those months ago at the scrapyard. Robert put one arm around his husband as the paramedics approached them. The paramedics put a blanket around Robert and they checked his blood pressure and whether or not his lung capacity was at a good rate. Aaron's brunt wrist was tended to, it was cleaned and bandages were wrapped around it. Robert walked over to where Aaron was and he watched as the paramedic finished up and Aaron was free to go. Robert hugged Aaron and wrapped the blanket around both of them to demonstrate the feeling of a safety shield around them. They answered some questions and made their statements to Jason Wise. Robert and Aaron then drove home and walked into their home, Aaron sat down on the sofa and Robert got his husband and himself a drink of water. They both sat on the sofa holding each other for a while until the front door opened and Chas walked in.
"Oh my god" Chas ran around the sofa and sat on the coffee table in front of Aaron and Robert "Are you two okay? Jason just told me what happened".
"Chrissie tried to kill me, she then held a gun to mine and Aaron's head. She wanted us dead" Robert answered.
"Aaww come here boys" Chas hugged both Aaron and Robert and they hugged her back. She then pulled back and brushed Aaron's hair out of his face before she kissed his forehead. She then turned to Robert and checked his face for any injuries "My brave boys".
"Boys? But I thought that you hated me" Robert said with a confused look on his face.
"Aaron's my son and you're my son-in-law, you're not family by blood but you're family and I love you both" Chas smiled before she hugged Aaron and Robert again. "How do you two always manage to survive?" she asked.
"I'm strong as long as he's with me" Robert answered as he pulled back from the hug, "Come'ere babe" Robert pulled Aaron into a hug and held him close.
Chas saw that Aaron's wrist was wrapped in a bandage "What happened to your wrist?" she asked.
"A piece of wood fell onto my arm when it was on fire" Aaron answered.
"How badly were you burned?" Chas asked.
"Second degree burn. Nothing too bad. It just hurts a bit" Aaron smiled briefly at Chas.
"My poor baby boy" Chas stroked her son's hair.
"I'll be okay, mum. I've been through worst" Aaron smiled.
"I'll look after him" Robert said in a soft voice.
"By the way the last two years have been, I would've thought that he's the one looking after you" Chas nodded at Aaron.
Robert looked at his husband and smiled "You know what... I think you're right". He kissed his husband's forehead "Thank you for saving me".
"You scared the life out of me. I thought that I'd lost you" Aaron said as snuggled into Robert.
"You're never gonna lose me. I'm staying right here with you. I'll always be here to look after you but I need you to be here to look after me" Robert stroked Aaron's hair as he spoke.
"I'll always be here to look after you" Aaron reassured.
"Do you two want to come round to the pub later? I can close early tonight and just call the family round. Drinks on the house?" Chas asked.
"What do you think? You up for a party?" Robert asked.
"Sounds good to me. Are you up for a party?" Aaron looked up at Robert.
"Defiantly" Robert smiled.
"Fab, why don't you both freshen up? And I'll see you at the Woolly around 8 o'clock" Chas smiled before she stood up and walked towards the front door.
Aaron and Robert sat on the sofa for a bit before they had some dinner. They then walked upstairs and Aaron went for a shower as Robert sat on the edge of the bed. He was thinking about everything that had been thrown at him and his husband. He had now been at gunpoint twice in under two years and his life had been threatened again. His thoughts then changed to Aaron... his husband had been put through hell ever since he was a child, he had been repeatedly abused for years, he had to face off against Gordon to protect the man he loved, he had been attacked, beaten and left for dead, he had been beaten and sexually harassed right in front of his husband who looked on helplessly, he had to pull him out of a burning building even though he had been hurt himself, he had been held at gun point and threatened many times. Robert cupped his hands over his mouth and he cried as he thought about all the hurt and torment that he and Aaron had been put through.
After thirty minutes, Aaron stepped out of the shower and he wrapped a towel around his waist. He walked into his and Robert's bedroom, he saw his husband sat on the edge of the bed, with his head down whilst crying.
"Robert!" Aaron hurried around the bed and crouched down in front of Robert. "What's wrong, Rob?" he asked.
"Why do we keep getting hurt? Why did that pervert have to put you through all of that pain and torture for years? Why did he have to kidnap me and beat me? Why did he hold a gun to my head and almost kill me? Why did that bitch have to pay those men to beat you up? Why did one of those men harass you as I watched? I can still see him touching you and trying to force himself on you. Why did we have to be put through hell?" Robert sobbed as he looked at Aaron.
Aaron lifted his arm and wiped away Robert's tears with his thumb "I don't know, babe. I can still see all of that too. You're right, we were put through hell. But we got through all of it, we survived everything that was thrown at us. And we're gonna continue to keep going, we're survivors me and you. Everything's gonna be alright now" Aaron said in a soft voice.
"How do you know that? I can't see you get hurt again" Robert cried.
"You won't, I'm alright and you're alright. We're gonna be fine. Just me and you eating some takeaway, drinking beers and watching some crappy movie because horror movies scare you. That's the way it is gonna stay, it's me and you against the world and we always come out on top of everything" Aaron straightened up and he sat next to Robert.
Robert leaned against his husband and held his hand "I love you so much" he lifted Aaron's hand and kissed it. He then held his husband's hand against his lips.
"I love you too. You don't have to be afraid of saying that you're not okay sometimes. It's okay to say that you're scared, I always tell you when I'm scared. Me and my constant nightmares that cause me to almost kick you out of bed when I'm asleep" Aaron tried to lighten the mood and it worked.
"I don't mind. I always know when something is wrong or when you're scared" Robert explained.
"You don't have to hide stuff from me. I'll always be here to listen to you and to comfort you" Aaron planted a long kiss on the side of Robert's head.
"I hide my fears to protect you. I don't want to see you get hurt again. You've already been through enough pain. You never deserved to be hurt. You're so beautiful and kind, I can't bear the thought of you being put through pain. You don't deserve to be put through any kind of pain" Robert sobbed on Aaron's shoulder.
Aaron let go of Robert's hand, he put his arm around Robert's shoulders and held him close "I can take pain. I've dealt with it enough to be able to cope with it. You don't have to hide your fear from me. Everything that happened to me is in the past. I'm learning to live with it, I'll be okay one day. It's just gonna take time but I'll get over things" a single tear rolled down Aaron's cheek.
Robert felt Aaron tense up so he wrapped his arms around his husband's waist and kissed he chest "You shouldn't have to learn how to cope with pain. You don't deserve to be hurt. I hate seeing you suffer. My precious Aaron" He cuddled up to his husband.
"I hate seeing you hurt too" Aaron rested his head against Robert's and he let his tears roll down his cheek.