Chapter 45

All the way over to his flat, Hope had dreaded going to Aiden's and when she had got there she found it was no better than she had thought it was going to be.

It was the thought of all the two of them had shared.

What he had learnt about her in the time were together and knowing that even though he had been privy to so much of her private life, he had still been able to set the best friend she had ever had up with a rapist.

That was something which she was never going to understand for it had not been the way she had been brought up by Doug and Julie… then she had gone in to the Brady family who would equally never do something like this to one another.

No, it was alien to her and there was no other way to put it.

But she knew what she felt here was no longer the most important thing when it came to her and him.

What was most important was finding out what he knew so that she could get on with putting the man who had hurt her best friend behind bars.

Nothing meant more than that.

But her pride did ache. She knew that was silly but still… It did. She was a police officer and she was meant to be able to tell who the good guys were and who the bad guy were.

She had got it wrong this time.

Having called ahead to say she was going to come she could only Hope that Aiden was going to keep to their arrangement but still she was nervous as she waited on the door step and she wished above all other things she did not have to do this but she did.

Aidan did not keep her waiting long. He opened the door and she wondered what it had been she had seen in him. Not cruelly – but then she knew what she had thought she had seen in him was a lie.

She had thought him to be a kind, brave man who had been through a lot of pain.

At one point she had even thought he was going to be the man who helped her raised Ciara as she was going to help him bring up Chase as best she could in a new modern family.

Thank God it had not come to pass.

"You came." He said to her.

"On business," Hope made very clear as she walked in to the flat.

That was all this was.

"For what it is worth - I am glad you are here as I hated the way things ended between us," said Aiden as they sat over his kitchen table. No matter who that sounded he knew the two of them were not going to be getting back together -"how are you and Bo?" he asked just to emphasize that point.

He knew where they were and that was somewhere far beyond where they had been at one point.

"Good," she said for she did not see why they should not be civil now she had calmed down. They would never be friends again but she was not going to be rude for Julie had raised her a lot better than that.

"How is Kayla?" he asked.

Now there was the sour point.

"You know I just can't discuss her with you."

Since he had been the one to prevent her ordeal and had not, she thought that was fair enough.

He nodded and did not push it any further.

"I know it does not change any of what happened but it is very important to me that you know if I could go back and change – well, a lot of things then I would. None of what has gone on of late is how I wanted things to turn out."

Especially when he thought of her and Bo.

"Well I think it is – it is done and nothing you want changes things. Nothing I want changes things."

She found she could not give him an easy out.

"Truly Hope I would do anything to change what went on between us," he said as he shook his head, trying to show her how desperate he was to do that.

"Well there is something you can do for me – that is why I came."

He nodded. "Anything."

"I need you to tell me about Grayson. And this time I need it to me the truth."

He looked as if that was the last thing in the world which he wanted to do but gods knew he had been a disappointment to her when it came to this subject too many times in the past.

If he wanted to save any of the memories which the two of them had had from going completely rotten, then he knew he had to do this for her.

"When the two of us met I thought he was an ordinary guy… He was a bit of a laugh to work with and he was fun in the office. I liked him. But looking back I can see how even then – well, he was a man's man let's say – always flirting with the young girls in the office. I did not think too much of it. He was a good looking guy and the girls seemed to take it in the spirit it was meant. I never thought that – "

"One of them might see as assessment."

He looked as if that thought made him uncomfortable and the only thought in her head was good. He had had the chance to make so many women feel safer in their environment and yet he had not taken it so she was not going to go easy on him now.

"No," he said regrettably. "Hope I know it does not mean anything to you know but if I could go back and do things very differently then I swear to you I would."

"You are right – it does not mean anything to me and in future I would prefer it is you did not insinuate anything of the sort. This is an investigation and I am here as a cop, not as anything else."

And certainly not as his ex.

"What I need from you know is names and numbers."

If he did not give her this then he was never going to be able to make amends at all and he did want to do that. So he listened.

And he did as she asked. And hoped somewhere inside of him he could be forgiven for what he had done.

x x x

Steph did not know if this was a good idea or not but the one thing which she did know was she had to be something.

As a kid she had always had a lot of faith in the justice system, and that was down to the fact so many of her family had been cops she believed. There had been her Aunt Hope and her Uncle Bo, Uncle Roman and dad.

And so if all of them were cops then they had to be the good guys. And maybe they were but the thing about good guys was that they did not always finish first.

She knew her dad and her aunt and uncle were all trying to still get to the answers which they all needed through legit means and she hoped and prayed they were going to come up with something soon… but if there was one thing she truly believed above all others now she was an adult, it was that it did not hurt to hedge your bets and when they had a newspaper man in the family, she felt as if she would be a fool to not try and put that to good use in trying to help her mother's case.

And while there was no immediate rush she did want this thing to be over for all of them….

Especially her mama.

So she was turning to the relative who she thought would best help her in this situation.

And it was made easier by the fact would he want to do it so much - this was a way he could try and make good on a bad part of his past. And he was not the kind of man to give up a chance to do that.

She approached the Horton house and knocked on the door. She was glad when she saw it was her Uncle Jack who answered it. Not that she supposed her Aunt Jen would have complicated things too much but it was nice she found to be able to cut out the middle man.

"Ahhh Steph it is good to see you. Let me find out where Abigail is for you."

"Actually, Uncle Jack it is you I have come to see."

It did not happen often, so she did not think she could blame him for the slightly skeptical look on his face but none the less he stepped back and let her in, intent on finding out what it was he could do for this niece of his.

"I need you to do a bit of digging around for me," she said once they were settled in the kitchen with a coffee.

Jack smiled. So that was why she had come to him.

"Stephanie, it has been a long time since I ran the Spectator if that is the sort of thing that you are after."

"But I bet they are the sort of skills which you never really lose."

Jack grimaced. She might have a point there but it did not mean he wanted to use them… He was not all together proud of the skills he had acquired during that time.

"Well I do not know..."

"Can you trace a living person Uncle Jack?" she asked bluntly.

He was a newspaper man and he had been in the FBI so if he did not know how they were screwed.

"If I have a good enough reason."

That was the answer.

"To help mom?"

Jack nodded. To help Kayla right now there was not a lot he would not do but he would have to know why.

"Ok…. What does she need help with?"

So her dad was yet to tell his brother the case wasn't being perused. No wonder he had not said anything to her aunt either.

"Getting a case together against Grayson."

"But your mother has done that by going to the police, they have one."

"I wish she had," she said before filling him in on the latest developments.

By the end of Stephanie's story Jack felt his blood boil. This was wrong – on every single level this was wrong.

"I am glad you came to me."

"So, you'll help?" she asked looking up at her uncle with bright eyes.

"Of course I will – you tell me what you need from me and I am going to get it done."

"I pretty much figure if the medical reports which we already have are not enough to back up what mom is saying what we need is someone else who he has does this too."

And if her history with the sorority girls had taught her one thing it was that the events were rarely isolated. There was a woman who had been out there scared and on her own for too long and she had not had a voice.

But now they were going to need her to find that voice she was going to be able to lend it to them and make sure Grayson never got to anyone else.

"So I need you to work out where he has worked before and who he has worked with. Anything that might help us to locate the woman he had hurt in the past and their names and numbers."

"Steph, you may have to accept they do not want to be found and even if they are some of them might not want to talk," And if they said no to him then she had to know he was not going to push them. Not on a subject such as this for he did not have the right. In fact he did not think anyone would have that right. Not even Kayla.

"I know that – and if they say no then we are going to back off without question. But I can't sit by and do nothing when this is my mom we are talking about."

If the truth was known, nor could he. He did understand – at the very least they had to try. And once they had done that, then they could rest easy.

Until then they could not.

x x x

In spite of the fact that Kayla was sure she was going to try and stay positive throughout this entire thing, by the middle of the day she had sent her husband an SOS. Nothing was really wrong but nothing at all was right and Kayla just considered herself lucky it had been Marlena who had found her almost frozen to the spot in the canteen.

All she had had to do was pick her lunch and yet at that moment the choice had felt overwhelming. So Marlena had picked chowder for her (it was good – not as good as her mothers, but good) and whisked her off.

It was not often she felt as if she was not going to get through the day these days but she thought if she needed a bit more help at that moment in time then she was going to be forgiven.

Seeing as he was on a shift with Bo and Hope there had been no problems for Steve to get away from the station (not that that would have stopped him anyway) and he was soon on his way to his wife's office where he found her with their old friend Marlena.

The two of them were sitting quietly when he arrived and Marlena gave him a soft smile when he came into the room which said a lot – and Kayla just looked frazzled.

"Kayla has just had a bit of a day of it," Marlena reiterated gently.

She did not want him to worry and while she knew in time Kayla was going to be able to explain that to himself, she had the look of a woman right then whose face was set so she did not cry.

It was all just going around and round in her head right then and the pain of having to confess to the actual confession.

It should come as no surprise to any of them that she was feeling a bit more fragile than she was used to and so it was not.

"I was just waiting here with her until you arrived – but now I can see the cavalry is here I am going to go – is that ok?" she checked with Kayla for if she was still needed by her old friend then nothing in the world was going to make her leave her.

Steve nodded as did Marlena.

"If I can do anything for you, all you have to do is let me know," Marlena told him.

"You could go and check on Mrs Blewit," she said. She was one of their patients who did need a lot of attention.

Still Marlena knew what she was asking for now was a moment on her own with Steve and she was the last person in the world who was going to deny them that. On the way out of the door she took Steve's hand held it for just a moment. She could not imagine how hard it was for them.

"Thanks Marlena."

There was so much which could be unsaid between them.

The door shut behind her and Steve and Kayla both moved at once to get to one another's arms hand when they did get to them they clung on to each other.

In truth, all Steve wanted to do was to hold her tight and not ever let go. As for Kayla all she could do was try and focus on the good in her life as she knew if she did not then the bad in it may over take her.

"How are you bearing up, my sweetness?" asked Steve as he kissed the top of her head. He could see for himself but if there was one thing he knew to be true right then it was that he needed to help her find her voice if she did not have it right then.

"I am so tired. And I do not know if I can face court all over again." She did not want it to be all over the press – she did not want her name in the papers. For herself she did not care so much but there was Joey to think about – her sweet little boy and she did not want this to take whatever childhood he had left.

But every time she thought about giving in to such thoughts, a fire within her burn bright.

"He is not going to win," Kayla reiterated before he had a chance to reply. It was not so long since he had conveyed that sentiment to him in this very room but she thought it was worth repeating. She had to keep telling herself that. She had known when they had gone to the police station that it may not be all settled by Tuesday. None of it was going to be easy either but she knew she had to be strong now. Even when she did not know how to be in.

In those moments after all, she had him.

"No, he is not," Steve agreed firmly. This was going to be there win. And they would do anything and everything they could to ensure it – her way.

And he would be beside her, in his place, the for the duration.

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