Dudes! How amazing is the sunshine right now? This is very much a kicking off chapter in the sense that after this, something wicked this way comes. I'll let you ponder over what that could be :) Cheers for the lovely reviews on the last chapter, the next one should be up fairly soon. Enjoy!

The Tudor Road café hadn't changed at all since Pete had first walked into it 11 years ago. Back in the days when Steve would drag him in here after school even though he was never allowed to order anything, he just had to sit in the corner and not make a sound whilst Steve and his mates sat there laughing and talking about football, occasionally taking the time to throw pieces of stale bread from their bacon sandwiches at him. His fists would clench under the table but he'd always refrain from saying anything. One slightly grumpy 14 year old against the 21 year old members of the up and coming GSE was never going to have a good outcome.

"Mate, I don't know about you," Ned complained sliding into the bench across from him as they located their usual seat. "But I am feelin' fucking rotten this mornin'."

"Forgive me for not looking shocked," Dave told him with a smirk. "Do you even remember how many times you ended up hurlin' all over my living room floor last night?"

"Ugh," Swill shuddered. "Mate that last little episode you 'ad was fierce. It was like a fucking fountain."

Pete chuckled and ignored the stinging of the cut on his eyebrow as the skin pulled a little too tight. His back was a little sore too, the long scratches marring the skin rubbing irritatingly against his t-shirt as he leant back in the booth. Remembering how they had come to be there along with the love bites which were thankfully hidden by his clothing, he felt a smug smile pull at his lips.

"How is it you got off so fucking easy?" Ned demanded, pointing at Pete and bringing him back from his daydream.

"Eh?" he frowned.

"Well, no offence Dunham, but you ain't exactly in tip top shape, are ya?" he gestured to his leg. "How is it that you got off with a couple of scrapes and I got booted in the 'ead by some tart whose voice ain't even broken yet?"

"Off the top of my 'ead, it might 'ave 'ad something to do with the fact that you were completely fucked on sambuca," Bovver raised an eyebrow.

"About that," the younger man frowned. "Why didn't none of you stop me getting that pissed?"

"How about 'cos for once in your fucking like you were actually gettin' the drinks in?" Dave told him. "I'm serious mate, you might wanna open your wallet and count up how many DeNiro's you ended up pissing away last night,"

"Aw, fuck," Ned grumbled, riffling about for his wallet and assessing the damage.

The waitress came over and took their orders, depositing the pints of coke and orange juice that they always had before leaving them to get back to their conversation.

"7 quid?" Ned looked at the coins on the table and stared up at the boys in horror. "I 'ad about 60 when I left last night and now all I've got is 7 fucking quid?"

Shaking his head, he looked at them seriously. "Oi, you don't reckon one of them little fuckers last night robbed me or nothing, do ya?"

"No, you daft bastard," Keith snapped. "You drank it away. And when you finally do get some more money you can send it my way, 'cos I sure as shit ain't paying to get your puke out of my car."

"Who d'you think they were anyway?" Matt asked, taking a long, soothing sip of ice cold coke. "Like you said, they were pretty young but they kinda knew who we were…"

"News travels fast around this place," Pete shrugged. "The GSE hasn't got a Major anymore and kids like that are gonna be jumping at it like fucking performing seals,"

"Yeah, but if they want to get into the GSE, why beat the shit out of the guy that used to run it?" The American frowned.

"Reputation mate," Pete snorted. "If that kid 'ad beaten us last night, no one would 'ave said a word about 'im stepping in as the new head of the firm. You take down the Major and you're golden. The only reason I stepped in the way I did was because of Steve, no one would 'ave dared lay a fucking finger on us,"

"So you're just…" Matt trailed off and shook his head, ignoring the way the entire table was suddenly staring at him.

"What?" Pete frowned.

"I mean, you're ok with leaving it like this?" he shrugged and then leant forward, lowering his voice. "I know that after everything happened with Tommy…"

"Mate, I'm not going over this again," Pete shook his head vehemently. "I made my choice and I'm sticking to it,"

The other boys went quiet and he knew that even though they had backed him up, a part of them probably believed that he was making the wrong decision about quitting the firm. But they hadn't been through what he had; he'd almost lost Allie, almost lost his child…there was nothing that was worth that.

Staring down at the marks on his hands from the fight last night, he knew that letting go wasn't going to be easy. Steve had always said to him how hard it got sometimes, knowing that Pete and the lads were down the Abbey and that he couldn't go. But like Pete, he'd made a choice that was better for him in the long run, if he hadn't left the firm when he did, Pete had no doubts whatsoever that his brother would be six feet under by now.

"I'm not asking you lot to walk away from it," Pete told them reassuringly. "But I need to."

"We know, mate." Dave told him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Believe me when I say that I'd be giving you a right ol' slap if you weren't walking away from all this,"

"Full English with extra bacon," the waitress's voice broke Pete out of his reverie as she slid the plate of food in front of him.

"Cheers, love," he smiled at her before she walked away.

"So, you are you lot still up for the match at the end of the month?" Swill asked, shovelling two pieces of bacon into his mouth.

"Aw, mate," Bovver laughed. "If that little shit from the Gooners turns up again, he's mine. He did a right number on me last year,"

"Oh fucking 'ell, 'ere we go again," Ike rolled his eyes. "Matt, don't listen to a fuckin word he says, yeah?"

"Oi!" Bovver slapped the side of his head. "It was a fucking close call, alright? And how is it you know what 'appened? You were too busy tryna chat up that bird to even notice what was going on…"

Pete stared down at this food, half heartedly using his fork to push the over cooked strips of bacon around the plate. This was all he had now: memories of the GSE. He wasn't a part of it anymore; sure he could go down the pub with them and listen them go on about what had happened with this firm or when the next match was, but he wasn't involved anymore.

For the first time in his life, he was just Pete. He wasn't Steve's brother or Michael Dunham's boy and he definitely wasn't the Major. He was just Pete Dunham.

And he wasn't sure if that was enough.

Allie stared determinedly at the blue eyed boy next to her who was still staring at the TV screen, his chin wet with dribble as he laughed non stop at the colourful images on the screen.

"Ok, Ben," she frowned. "You're going to have to explain this to me because I don't have a clue what the hell this is,"

She gestured to what looked like large blue alien dancing under a talking tree. Blinking a few times to make sure she was seeing it right, she briefly wondered whether pregnancy could cause hallucinations.

"You tell silly Auntie Allie that it's just Secret Garden," Shannon cooed, handing the blonde a bowel of toffee popcorn and picking up the giggling toddler, talking complete and utter crap to him.

Raising an eyebrow, Allie hoped that she didn't turn into that; since when was it law that all mothers had to talk to their kids as though they were retards?

"Yeah, well Auntie Allie is still scared," she laughed, scooping up a handful of still warm popcorn and munching on it.

Her relationship with Shannon had somewhat taken a turn for the better after that night in the kitchen; Allie knew that it couldn't be easy to not only lose the man you love but then see him with someone else must have been soul destroying. Just thinking about Pete with another woman was enough to make her throat close up and her stomach twist into a sickening knot.

Sitting down across from the blonde with Ben on her lap, Shannon stared at the TV for a few seconds longer, trying to work out in her head what she had to say next.

"I need to ask you something," she breathed, bringing Allie's attention away from the bowl of popcorn. "It's not easy for me…or you…but um,"

"What?" Allie frowned. "What's going on?"

"I've decided to take Steve to court for full custody of Ben,"

The words echoed through the large living room for a moment and Allie went back to staring down at the popcorn. Oh, shit.

"I need someone to be a character witness, I've got Matt, y'know, he's my brother but…" she paused. "I was hoping you'd consider it,"

"Wow," Allie breathed, shaking her head slowly. "Shannon, this is a lot to ask," she looked at the older woman seriously. "You're talking about taking Ben away from Steve completely,"

"He'll do it if I don't." she shot back. "And I am not losing my son,"

"You can't do this to him," she pleaded. "He loves him so much and, it's not just about Steve, y'know? Ben deserves to be with his father,"

"Ben deserves to have a good home with someone who loves him," Shannon snapped. "And he's not going to get that with Steve and his little whore,"

"So is this about Ben or Gemma?" Allie asked her.

"What?" she shot back.

"Shannon, I know how much it's hurting you to see Steve with someone else," she shook her head. "I can't imagine what you're going through but punishing him by taking away his son isn't the answer,"

"Oh for Gods sake just forget it, ok?" the raven haired woman spat. "I knew asking you would be a mistake,"

"Why?" Allie laughed. "Because I'm giving you the other side of the argument and you don't like it? Shan, what d'you think is going to happen in court? You think they're going to let you get away with throwing a hissy fit because you don't like what you're hearing?"

"You leave Pete." Shannon looked at her dead in the eye and saw the young woman's eyes darken. "Five years down the line, for whatever reason, you leave him and he moves in with some other woman who he's only known for a month and starts threatening to take away your baby," she looked pointedly at Allie's stomach. "Look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn't fight him on it,"

Allie felt her chest tighten as she looked at the baby sat happily on his mother's lap; Steve would never do that to Shannon, he would never take her child away just to prove a point…

"You're all I've got, Allie," she pleaded, her eyes shimmering with tears. "I've already lost my husband, I can't lose Ben, too. Please, just do this for me…"

Allie stared back at her, her breathing getting faster and faster until she felt like her heart felt as though it was trying to break out of her chest. The word came out of her mouth before she could stop it and in the second in which it echoed through the room, she swore she felt the temperature drop.

"Ok."

Shannon looked up at her with tears streaming down her face, the look of desperation in her eyes so overwhelming as she prayed she hadn't misheard her.

"What?" she whispered.

"I said I'll do it," Allie nodded, knowing that she had already made a mistake.

Pete lay on the massive sofa in Allie's living room, staring at the brochure Swill had given him of a nice looking hotel in Prague that the boys had booked for his stag do next week. He still couldn't believe that the wedding had come around this quickly but shit was it exciting.

"Prague?" Allie raised an eyebrow as she padded into the living room, the pale blue tank top she was wearing emphasising how small she still was. At just over two and a half months pregnant, Pete had assumed that she would look a little chubby at least but she still looked the same. He'd panicked and asked the doctor about it on their last appointment but the nurse had promised him that everything was fine.

"Yeah," he laughed. "No escaping it now, it's all booked."

"So you get bundled onto a plane for two days of non stop drinking and slutty strippers," she pursed her lips. "I get to drink orange juice and have everyone fuss over me like I'm disabled," she grinned. "Wanna trade?"

"I could try and sneak you on the plane," Pete told her with a smirk. "And there won't be any strippers,"

She gave him a knowing look.

"Alright there will be, but that don't mean I'll be looking at 'em," he protested, frowning when she threw her head back and laughed.

"Oh, I'm sure," she grinned down at him. "You'll be in the corner like a good little choir boy telling the barman how much you love me while the rest of the boys get lap dances,"

"Alright, when you put it like that," he sat up and grabbed her by the hips, pulling her down so that she was lying next to him and then rolling over so she was pressed against the back of the sofa. He smiled contentedly as she snuggled into his body, her legs gently tangling up with his, one hand resting on his chest while the other one traced his features.

"You nervous?" he asked her quietly, kissing her palm.

"What? About getting married?" she frowned. "Or you going to Prague?"

"Both," Pete smirked, brushing some hair off of her face and pressing his lips to her forehead.

"Hmmm," she sighed happily, wrapping her arms around him tighter. "I'm not nervous about either actually, something tells me you'll come back."

"Why's that then?" he grinned at her, then hissed when her hands drifted lower over his stomach and started playing teasingly with the buckle on his belt.

"Oh, I can think of a few things," she wiggled her eyebrows, then giggled as he growled and attacked her neck, making his way up to her mouth.

"I love you," he murmured against her lips, grinning when she made a sound of distress as he pulled away from her for that short moment.

"Yeah?" she raised an eyebrow. "What d'you plan on doing about that?"

Pete didn't answer her, instead he just rolled her so that she was underneath him and fumbled with tie on her track pants.

"Pete!"

Both of them jumped as Steve's voice boomed through the hallway, the front door slamming closed as his footsteps got closer. Pulling her track pants back up over her hips, Allie just about managed to get the tie done up as Pete stood up and pulled her with him, pulling his shirt down far enough to cover the state he was in.

Steve burst into the room and stopped, his eyes flashing dangerously when he saw Allie.

"'Appy with yourself, are ya?" he spat at her.

"What?" she shook her head, confused.

"You fucking idiot!" he screamed, stepping closer to her. "Do you 'ave any idea what you've done?"

"Oi!" Pete yelled, stepping in and shoving his brother back hard enough to send him stumbling into the wall. "Calm the fuck down! Who the fuck do you think you are coming in 'ere and shouting at 'er like that?"

"Ask 'er what she's done, Pete," Steve snarled. "Because if you knew…"

"Knew what?" Allie cried. "What the hell are you on about?"
"Shannon wants custody of Ben," he shook his head. "And Allie 'ere has agreed to testify for 'er."

Pete's eyes widened and he stared back at Allie in horror. No, there was no way that was true…she would have mentioned it to him.

"Allie?" he frowned. "You didn't..."

"She needed help," Allie protested. "She told me that you were planning on taking Ben,"

"And you fucking believed her?" Steve screamed. "We're going through a divorce, Allie for fuck sake, you really think Shannon's about to play fair?"

"Look, I'm sorry," she cried. "I didn't know what was going on…"

"But you know me," Steve shouted. "You're marrying my brother for fuck sake, it should be about loyalty if nothing else!"

"Loyalty?" she laughed. "As far as I knew you were planning on taking a two year old away from his mother, what was I supposed to do? Tell her she deserved it and I hope she rots in hell,"

"It wouldn't 'ave hurt," Pete muttered.

"You don't mean that," Allie shook her head at him.

"Don't I?" he laughed bitterly. "Allie, the woman's a complete bitch and you backed her up, and then you didn't even fucking tell me what you'd done! When was I gonna find out? When Steve saw you in the courtroom?"

"You weren't there, ok?" she shouted. "Shannon was so upset and I wasn't about to watch a kid get taken away from his mother, it's not fair."

"Oh right, I get it," Pete snorted. "So you just forgot about all the shit that Shannon's pulled in the last two months and thought she deserved a break?"

"Ok, you just said yourself that she was lying to me, so why the fuck are you making this out to be all my fault?" she snapped at the two Dunham men, her fists clenching at her sides.

"Look I get that this is some big sympathy trip for you, you lost your own mum or whatever and thought you'd play the martyr so that didn't happen to Ben," Steve shook his head. "But next time you might want to check it over with someone else before you shove a fucking knife in my back."

Allie's mouth fell open in shock and Pete spun around to face his brother, his eyes narrowed in fury.

"That's enough," he shouted. "Back the fuck off her, now,"

"She's fucked up 'ere and you're 'aving a go at me?" Steve laughed. "Pete, open your fucking eyes, would ya?"

"I said that's enough," Pete shoved him backward, wincing when Steve's entire body tensed, his fist clenching by his side.

"Go on," he laughed. "Do what you do best bruv, act the big man and lay one on me, that'll look fucking great in court,"

The older Dunham man stood there staring at them both angrily for a moment, his breath coming out in harsh pants as he tried to keep temper under control.

"We get this sorted and I mean now," he breathed, looking directly at Allie, although she noted his eyes had softened slightly. "First thing tomorrow, you call 'er and tell 'er that you can't go through with it anymore." He shook his head at her. "I know you think Shannon's your mate, Allie but you don't know 'er like I do. She'll do anything and she'll fuck over anyone just to get her way," he met her eyes and saw the tears there, relenting slightly on how hard he had been on her. "And you can take my word on that."

Shannon glanced at the door to the bathroom in Pete's flat where she was still staying with Matt, listening carefully and making sure that the shower was still running.

"Matt?" she called loud enough for him to hear her over the sound of the water.

"Yeah?" he shouted back.

"Nothing," she shook her head. "I just wanted to check you were in,"

Placing Ben down in his playpen, she knelt down in front of the low coffee table, ignoring the protest in her leg muscles as she flipped open the silver laptop and winced when the Windows tune played, luckily not loud enough to alert her brother.

Scanning through the various files on his desk top, she clicked on the one marked Diary 04 and waited for it to load, tapping her fingernails against the keyboard.

The file finally loaded and she scanned her eyes over it, her eyes narrowing when as she read.

Pete wouldn't tell me about what happened with him and Hatcher all those years ago, at least not with Allie around…

It was Steve that Tommy had the history with, from what Pete told me about the old guys who ran the GSE I'm not that surprised that Shannon asked him to quit…

Scrolling through the rest of the page, Shannon realised that everything she needed was there. Slamming the laptop shut, she picked it up and shoved it in her bag, picking up Ben and putting into his pushchair. She had her appointment with her lawyer in an hour and she'd be damned if she was told again that her chances of getting full custody were slim.

Once they read this, there was no way that Steve would get anywhere near Ben and if it meant she lost Matt and Allie along the way then well, she could live with that.

So I've decided that bitchy Shannon might be my new self-indulgence! What'd you guys reckon? Review to your hearts content and let me know! :D