Right so as I'm leaving for Dublin tomorrow until Sunday I thought I'd leave this with you now, but I'm checking my emails over the weekend so you still have to leave a review! I only got like, 4 on the last chaper..gutted! :D Cheers for all the birthday wishes as well, I hope you enjoy this. :)

"Pete, please don't leave,"

He looked down at where her had had wrapped around his wrist again, her pale green eyes pleading with him.

"Nat," he shook his head. "Don't make this harder, alright?" he sighed heavily. "I can give you some money, you can sort yourself out and then…"

"I don't want fuckin' money!" Natalie shouted. "I just…I need you to help me,"

"That's what I've been tryna do for the last few weeks, Natalie," Pete snapped. "And you fuckin' threw it back in my face. I was willing to let you stay, to help you get back on your feet and you repay me by bringing some coked up little twat into my house and shoving needles in your arm?"

Pete rubbed the back of his neck and stood up quickly, pacing the small room as his anger intensified.

"Fuck," he shook his head and turned to glare at her again. "Do you realise what could have happened tonight?" he shouted. "What if Poppy had been there and you were so fucked outta your 'ead that you did something to her? What if Allie had broken her neck?" he pointed to the door. "You do realise she's down the hall havin' her fuckin' skull x-rayed right now, don't you?"

"I'm sorry!" Natalie sobbed, clinging to the bed rail as though she would float away if she let go. "I didn't mean it to happen like this…I was just scared! I couldn't cope back here, too much had changed and you weren't there for me as much and-…"

"I've got a family now!" Pete practically screamed at her. "I've got a wife and a daughter who you put in fucking danger tonight and yet you're seriously gonna sit there and 'ave a go at me for not 'being there' for you?" he snorted. "Fuck me do you need to grow up,"

"I've been clean for four years," Natalie told him. "Four years, Pete and then I make one little mistake…"

"No!" he shouted at her. "Don't you get it? There are no 'little mistakes' when it comes to this shit. Its heroin, Natalie; you either take it or you don't. It's that fuckin' simple,"

"And what about the GSE, huh?" she snapped back. "It took you seven years to give that up and even then that was only because you got the shit beaten out of you and your precious little girlfriend said she's do a runner if you didn't quit,"

"You're comparing the firm to what you're into?" Pete narrowed his eyes at her. "It's the same principle, Petey," she spat mockingly. "You endangered your life, put Allie's in danger on more than one occasion, you hurt other people…you're just as fucking selfish as I am in that respect." She cocked her head. "Maybe that's why we get along so well,"

"I don't 'ave to fuckin' listen to this bollocks," he snarled. "Get yourself sorted out and then come and get your shit from the house," he pointed at her. "I've called your mum, she's on 'er way to get you,"

"You promised me you'd never give up on me," Natalie mumbled quietly. "That night I tried to…" she glanced down at her wrists and briefly caught Pete doing the same. "You told me that you'd do anything for me, that you'd stand by me not matter what I did."

"I know," Pete nodded. "But I didn't have Allie and Poppy then," he shrugged. "And you don't want to ask me to choose, Nat,"

"Too hard on you?" she shook her head.

"No," Pete looked her dead in the eye. "It's too easy."

Natalie nodded silently, not in the least bit shocked that he would obviously chose Allie and the brat, but that didn't mean it hurt any less.

"I meant it y'know," Pete told her after a long moment of silence. "You were my little sister in every way that counted, I would 'ave walked through fuckin' fire if I thought you wanted me to," he shrugged. "But now I just-…"

"Pete!"

They both looked up at the sound of the voice, Natalie frowning at the unfamiliar but strikingly handsome man standing outside the door, peering through the blinds. His dark brown hair was purposefully messy and accentuated the almost unnatural shade of green of his eyes.

"What the hell is going on?" the man shouted again, his voice muffled by the glass.

Pete sighed and began walking towards the door, stopping only when Natalie called out his name.

"Where are you going?" she asked, her palms sweating and making it harder to keep her grip on the bed railing.

"To talk to Allie's brother," he gestured to the man and Natalie suddenly wondered how she hadn't caught the resemblance before.

"Well, are you coming back?" she asked him, hating herself for looking so pathetic.

He stared at her for a long time but refrained from answering her question.

"Pete?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Steve should be 'ere soon," he muttered. "He can stay with you for a while,"

With that, he yanked the door open and stepped into the hall, leaving Natalie to merely stare out of the window as tears began streaming down her face.

She knew that he would come back because that was just how Pete was, he would act all hard and tough but if someone was ever in trouble, it seemed to almost physically hurt him to walk away from it.

He would come back out of habit, but she had lost him as a brother.

And unlike last time, Natalie knew that there was no way she would ever get him back.

"I reckon she's a bit young to be watching this,"

Dave glanced at Swill as he and the rest of the lads sat in the children's room of St Marks hospital, their 6ft frames crammed onto the small and brightly coloured plastic chairs.

"Too young for it?" he frowned. "Swill, its Sesame Street,"

"Yeah, but there's a fuckin' vampire in it," Swill reasoned. "What if it messes 'er up in later life?"

"Oi, d'you reckon we could ask the nurses to sterilise 'im while we're 'ere?" Dave smirked at Pete. "I don't know about you but the idea of 'im ever breeding is enough to haunt my dreams,"

Pete snorted lightly but couldn't bring himself to laugh properly. The doctors had told him that Allie was still in x-ray, apparently there'd been a car accident victim in before her and so she'd had to wait her turn. He'd wanted to go down there just to sit with her but the second he'd attempted to leave the room Poppy had started howling so he'd had no choice but to sit right back down again.

The infant started squirming on Swill's lap and Pete smiled when Swill placed her on the floor and she clumsily dragged herself over to the toys, reaching out and snagging a Lego brick and jamming it into her mouth.

"Oi," Pete frowned, walking over and taking it from her, tossing it over his shoulder and sitting against the wall with her in between his legs. "None of that, missy. I know this is a hospital, but you don't know where half that shit has been,"

She gurgled back at him and giggled, reaching for the laces on his trainers and falling over herself as she tried to pull them.

Pete looked past her to where Lara was crashed out on the bean bags with her head on Harry's knee, the slightly older man smiling back at him and then pulling a face at Poppy which made her laugh.

Jesus, we all look like shit, Pete realised with a laugh.

Poppy tugged on his jeans and made the same noise she did whenever Allie walked into a room, something between excitement and impatience.

"I know, sweetheart," he pulled her up and hugged her. "She'll be back soon, I promise,"

Grabbing a ragged looking toy rabbit, he tickled her with it, grinning when she laughed loud enough to draw the lad's attention and he noted miraculously that even Bovver had a smile on his face.

"I know I said you to that I'd be happy with whatever you did, right?" Pete looked at her seriously, his voice low enough so that the others couldn't hear him. "And I am, rocket scientist, ballerina, West Ham manager…whatever you end up doing, I'll be there for you, the whole way," she stared back at him, jamming her fist into her mouth and dribbling. "But if you ever do anything as silly as this," he shook his head. "I love you too much to watch anything like this happen to you,"

She made a noise of agreement and thumped her fists against his stomach.

"Oh so you wanna beat me up, do ya?" Pete smirked at her. "Well then…"

He bent his head down and blew a raspberry on her tummy, making her little legs kick excitedly as she giggled.

"See what you get?" he raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't make me do that again,"

Looking down at the gorgeous blue eyed girl, he felt his heart sink. 18 years ago, Natalie's parents had probably looked down at their little girl and thought the same things: that she was this perfect little thing who they would love no matter what.

And now look at her; strapped to a bed in hospital with needle punctures in her arms and going fast into heroin withdrawal.

Pete felt tears sting his eyes and he pulled his daughter closer, resting his hand against her back as he breathed into her little shoulder.

"You'll be ok," he whispered to her. "I'll make sure of it. No matter what happens, I'll be there and I'll keep you safe, sometimes you might hate me for it but I'd rather you hate me than see anything bad happen to you, got it?"

She gurgled against him and twitched, getting comfortable as she yawned in his ear and laid her head on his chest. Pete listened for a moment as her breathing evened out before he fell into unconsciousness with her.

"No overly hot baths, no hard showers, no driving, swimming, contact sport or intense movement, no tight clothing and where possible try to refrain from lifting anything heavier than a bag of sugar,"

Allie looked up at the doctor with a slightly twisted smile on her face as she tugged on her shoes, straightening up and nodding thoughtfully at him.

"Right so you're basically telling me that I have to be a smelly immobile freak who can't leave the house or lift my daughter for the next…"

"Two weeks," he told her.

"Right," she pursed her lips. "You do realise I won't pay attention to any of it,"

"Of course you won't," the old man laughed. "No one ever does but I don't want to get sued, an old git like me is in no position to afford a lawyer,"

He reached out and touched her arm.

"Any pain in the shoulder or loss of movement and you come straight back here, ok?" he smiled at her. "Take care, Mrs Dunham."

Allie waved him off sighing as she grabbed her bag and tossed her blood stained hospital gown onto the unmade bed before stepping out into the crowded hallway.

Muttering apologies here and there, she stopped short of the door which led to the visitors room, her eyes trained on the white board where she could just about make out Natalie Dunham scrawled in green ink.

Making a quick note of the room number, Allie turned on her heel and veered through the throng of doctors and nurses until she faced the light blue door and took a deep breath before pushing it open.

To her surprise the bed was empty, it was unmade hinting that Natalie had not long since moved but still there was no sign of her in the room. Allie looked at the bathroom door which was shut and instantly her heart dropped.

"Oh shit," she muttered, running over to it and finding that it was locked. There was what appeared to be a spot of blood on the door handle and her throat seized up. "Crazy bitch better not be dead," she whispered, shaking the handle.

"Natalie?" she shouted, banging her hand against the wood. "Natalie!"

"What?"

Allie spun around and jumped seeing the brunette sat in the chair in the far corner of the room which was partially hidden by the curtain running along side it.

"Jesus!" she gasped, pressing her hand to her chest.

"If you need to use the pisser than badly there's one down the hall," Natalie told her emotionlessly. "That door keeps jamming so they told me not to go in there in case I get stuck,"

"Oh," Allie nodded, feeling more than a little stupid. "Right,"

Silence filled the room as the two women looked at each other, both having more than enough to say but neither willing to speak first.

"How's the head?" Natalie asked her quietly.

"Huh?" Allie frowned.

"Pete told me you needed a head x-ray," she shrugged.

"Oh yeah," she tapped her temple. "Its fine,"

"So they found something resembling a brain then?" Natalie snorted.

"They're not sure actually," Allie told her seriously. "They might have to do a biopsy,"

Natalie surpised both herself and the blonde by letting out a short laugh, shaking her head lightly as she pulled her knees tighter to her chest.

"Lara told me you don't remember what happened," she sat down on the edge of the window sill next to Natalie and rested her hands on her knees. "Y'know, back at the house,"

"Its not that I don't remember," Natalie shrugged. "It's just a big blur…it all kind of runs together. I remember being at the top of the stairs and then it all kinda goes black,"

"You slipped, I fell with you," Allie snorted. "It wasn't an overly pleasant memory so I wouldn't feel too bad about missing out," she gestured to her shoulder. "I'm almost certain it was far from being a Kodak moment."

"So why are you here?" Natalie asked her firmly. "You win, Barbie. Pete wants me out of the house so, unless you're here to gloat then I can't think what reason you'd have for paying a visit to little old me,"

"It's not about winning, Natalie," Allie shook her head. "It never has been, I didn't need to win Pete over from you; he's my husband for God sake. This has been about me not trusting you for shit and you proving me right,"

"You're trophy is in the post," Natalie snapped.

"See there you go again, throwing everything back at the people who tried to help you," she laughed. "Jesus Christ, whether we hated each other or not, I was still willing to give you a shot, so was Pete. But then you go and fuck up and then you throw a fit when we decide that ok, maybe we're not willing to put up with it anymore."

"Oh yeah because God forbid Princess Alyssa think about anyone but herself," she laughed.

"And what about you?" Allie snapped. "Who exactly were you thinking about when you stabbed a needle full of shit into your arm? Because I can bet my arse it wasn't Pete or Steve or your mum or any of the other people who've gone out of their way to try and help you." Allie shook her head. "So you had a rough childhood, mummy and daddy weren't exactly loaded but they helped you best they could, they got divorced, daddy moved away and all bets were off, huh?"

"You don't know anything about me!" Natalie hissed.

"Oh but that's just it, see I do," Allie nodded. "You seriously think you're the only kid out there that had a rough time growing up? Natalie, look at Pete and Steve, their dad died. My mum died, Swill never even fucking met his dad…but y'know what? We don't get to sit there and drown our sorrows in a bucket o' drugs because if everybody did that then the world would just stop."

"Well bravo," Natalie clapped sarcastically. "Aren't you just the martyr to end all martyr's?"

"I'm not saying I'm better than you," Allie groaned, getting tired of her attitude. "What I'm saying is that pretty soon if you don't pull yourself out of this and quit the self-pity, people are going to stop giving a shit altogether. Because you're asking too much Nat and you're not giving anything in return."

"Well lucky you," Natalie smiled brightly. "Pete's already been in here informing me that I'm no longer part of the oh so exclusive Dunham-Harding clan so you can just go ahead and break out the party poppers,"

"And you honestly think he meant that, do you?" Allie laughed. "Come on, Nat, this is Pete we're talking about. He's just hurt and he's scared for you, but he's as likely to walk away from you as I am to have the Hammer's crest tattooed on my chest,"

A small smile pulled at the corner of the brunette's mouth but she refused to let it show.

"I never knew what I wanted to do," she told Allie quietly. "I could play netball and shit but where was that going to get me in life? I wasn't as smart as Pete was, I knew that Uni was going to be a waste of my time…have you ever been so scared of disappointing someone that you just think 'fuck it, if I do it now, it won't be so bad in the long run'?"

Allie shook her head, trying not to look sad or sympathetic for fear that the girl might hit her.

"Drugs are easy," she shrugged. "Its not a way of life, I'm not saying it is but it makes everything go away; every little niggling worry, every bad thing you've ever heard someone say about you, every bad grade you've ever got just disappears," she met Allie's emerald eyes and smirked. "And when you've got nothing else in life, that's a really great feeling to have, not that you'd know about it, right? I bet you had it all planned out from day one, either that or its hard to object to mummy and daddy's plans with that silver spoon shoved so deep down your throat."

Allie looked at her for a moment and bit back the scathing response, chewing on her lip for a second before she sighed heavily.

"My parents were both lawyers," she breathed, earning a confused and slightly uncaring look from Natalie. "My dad was born into a fairly well off family but my mum was some hippy type from Cornwall who'd been brought up on a farm with like five brothers and two sisters. Anyway my mum was freakishly smart, like she was one of those people who could do anything if you showed them once."

"And my dad, he was born to be a lawyer, he spends half his life rallying against this and that, barely paying attention to himself. His party story is that he participated in an anti war protest outside number 11 back in the 70's with a broken arm and nose." She laughed. "So anyway with Kensington's answer to Bono and Yoko Ono for parents you can imagine how shitty I felt when I got to 17 and realised that I didn't want to be a lawyer. I was the only girl and I wanted to be like my mum but you try explaining to a dead lady that you thought her job was shit boring,"

Natalie snorted and kept on pretending not to pay attention.

"No, I wanted to design clothes," she laughed. "Talk to me about freeing Tibet and I'm lost but give me a pair of Cavalli shoes and an A symmetrical hem line to work with and I can rabbit on for hours,"

"Lucky you," Natalie rolled her eyes.

"My point being," Allie snipped at her. "Is that just because things don't always go our way, just because sometimes we get lost and up doing something that we're not sure about, doesn't give us an excuse to fall apart." She shook her head. "You're better than all this crap and you know it. You said you wanted to stop, that you were clean for four years so do you really want to go back to this again?" she gestured to the hospital room and Natalie looked up at her, her bottom lip trembling slightly.

"I don't have anything left to get better for," she whispered.

Allie sighed and stood up, catching the look Natalie gave her as she shoved her hands into her pockets and shrugged.

"If that's what you think then I really am wasting my time," she told her.

"What so you've said your bit to make yourself feel better and now you're leaving?" Natalie snorted.

"No," the blonde shook her head. "I'm just tired and sore and about as willing to sit here giving you reasons to keep trying as you are to give me a shot at helping," she placed her hand on the door handle and twisted it. "I'll see you later,"

The noise from the hallway filled the small room and made Allie wince slightly as she rushed to pull it shut behind her for fear of disturbing Natalie too much.

The hustle of the hallway enveloped her instantly and as she stepped out into the hall, she did so with such haste that she didn't hear Natalie's reply.

"No, you won't."

Pete stared down at Poppy as he laid her in her crib, her podgy arms falling either side of her head as she slept soundly.

Bending over the bars, he pressed a kiss against her forehead and switched on her night light before tip toeing out of the nursery and back down the hall to his bedroom.

There were still flecks of Natalie's blood on the carpet in the hall, not to mention the large patch of Allie's blood on the landing but he refused to let himself look at either for fear of being sick.

Pushing the door to his bedroom open, he shook his head when he saw Allie struggling to get her sweater off, cursing as she tried to lift her shoulder and couldn't.

"Need some help?" he asked her.

"I wouldn't say no," she smiled bashfully as he stepped in front of her, gently tugging the jumper off of one arm and over her head before pulling the bad arm through last.

"You ok?"

"Yeah," she nodded, peeking down at the reddened bandage. "I'm fine, do you mind…" she gestured to her back and he nodded, walking behind her and undid the clasp of her bra, gently peeling it off so as not to brush against the bandage and kissing the back of her neck.

Goose bumps broke out over her skin and he knew it wasn't just from the cold in the room but reached for one of the strapless top she had laid out nonetheless and tied it around her.

"I spoke to Natalie,"

Her voice was so soft he almost didn't hear it. Pulling her around to face him, he met her eyes and held them.

"You did what?" he whispered.

"She told me about what you said to her," Allie looked down at her feet and wiggled her toes against the carpet. "And I wanted to say thank you," she breathed shakily. "I know how hard it must have been to choose between your family but-…"

"It wasn't hard, Allie," Pete shook his head. "When it comes down a decision like that you and Poppy come first every time," he cupped her face in his hands. "You're my family. As long as I've got you, I don't give a shit about the rest,"

Allie leant against him and sighed as he brushed her back with his hands, his lips pressing against the top of her head.

"Except maybe if Jessica Alba comes along and begs me to shag 'er," he told her after a second, smirking when he heard her muffled giggled. "Then you can both fuck right off,"

She lifted her head to look at him and he kissed her lightly, pulling her over to the bed and settling her down, careful not to touch her shoulder as he did so before walking around the bed and lying on the other side of her.

"This time last year I was passed out on Dave's living room floor with a jester's hat on and enough alcohol in my blood stream to kill an entire rugby team," Pete laughed, shaking his head.

"This time last year I weighed about two thousand stone and was munching my way through a bumper pack of Bounty bars waiting for you to come home," Allie smiled, laying her head against his shoulder.

"We need to have more fun," Pete told her.

"We have fun," she protested.

"Oh yeah?" he raised an eyebrow. "Then why is there enough blood out there to make it look like someone got fucking sacrificed in our hallway?"

"Fair point," Allie grinned. "But this weekend was fun," she nudged him. "I've got the hickey's to prove it,"

"Tart," Pete quipped, smirking at her when she gasped and smacked his stomach.

"Oh whatever, you put them there, you big whore," she shot back, making him laugh. The first real laugh she'd heard from him since the other night.

He reached down and took her hand, bringing it up to rest over his heart as they lay side by side, staring up at the ceiling.

"Do you think I'm being unfair in walking away from 'er?" Pete sighed.

"No," Allie frowned, turning to face him. "I think that you've got a good heart and I think that if you think its time to walk away, then it probably is,"

"She said something though," Pete shook his head. "Something about us…about how me being involved with the GSE when I first got together with you is no different than her being on drugs,"

"What?" Allie laughed. "Pete, that's bullshit,"

"Is it, though?" he asked her. "I mean think about it, I put you in danger so many times…remember when Mikey attacked you?" he felt his stomach clench as he remembered it. "If I'd lost you that night it would 'ave been totally down to me,"

"But you didn't," she insisted.

"It's not the point though, is it babe?" Pete snapped. "There was still that risk, that chance that he could 'ave…" the memory affected him more than he thought it would and with a deep sigh, he shook his head. "My point is, is that even with all that shit, you never gave up on me, so does that make me the world's biggest hypocrite for telling 'er to piss off?"

"I didn't have to give up on you," Allie told him firmly. "Even though the GSE was a huge part of your life, I knew that you'd leave it if you had to. I knew that if it was a choice between protecting me or fighting, you would have stepped back every time and that there is the difference. Natalie can't be trusted to walk away from her problems,"

"Maybe that's just because she can't do it on 'er own," Pete levelled, squeezing her hand tighter.
"Go and see her,"

Allie's voice broke through the silence after a long moment and Pete turned to face her, wondering if he'd heard her right.

"You what?" he frowned.

"You know as well as I do that if you leave things the way they are, it'll bug you forever so just…go," she shoved him gently.

Pete leant over and kissed her quickly before standing up and shoving his feet back into his trainers tiredly.

"I don't have to go now," he told her.

"Yes you so," she smiled sleepily. "I'm knackered and if I have to listen to you rabbit on all night about right and wrong, not only am I going to think I've slipped into some kind of Twilight Zone where you're the new cockney Jiminy Cricket but I'll end up suffocating you with my pillow,"

Pete laughed and kissed her again, picking up her left hand and kissing her wedding band.

"Cheers though," he winked. "Y'know for not givin' up on me. I owe you a beer,"

"You owe me the entire keg," she joked. "Now bugger off,"

Pete laughed and let go of her hand, closing the door lightly behind him as he jogged down the stairs and out to his car.

"Don't tell mum,"

Dave looked up from the breakfast counter where he was sat rolling a penny back and forth on the tiles. His gaze settled on his brother who was sat sheepishly on the sofa, a bloodied tissue still crammed half way up his nose.

"Don't tell mum?" Dave spat. "I've got you walkin' around the streets of fuckin' London with enough crack on you to set up your own 5 star den and all you've got to fuckin say to me is 'don't tell mum'?"

"Oh, its tough being the good little boy, ain't it Davey?" Jake snapped.

"Fuck off you little prick," Dave shot back. "You've 'ad every fuckin' chance I did and then some, it ain't my fault you've got shit for brains and threw every fuckin' one of 'em back in mum and dad's faces."

Muttering something under his breath, Jake went back to nursing his nose. He hadn't even bothered looking at the rest of his body yet, but at least he'd learned the hard way that a beating from Pete Dunham wasn't something to be taken lightly.

"Is that all of it?" Dave asked, jerking his chin towards the black bag sat on the counter top.

"What?" Jake frowned.

"I asked you was that all of it," Dave hissed. "And if you lie to me, you can bet your greasy little student arse it'll be the last thing you fuckin' do."

"There's some weed in my room," he shrugged. "All my hard stuff is in there," he pointed to the bag. "I still can't believe you're fuckin' pinning what that silly little Dunham bint did down on me," he snorted. "She's a big girl, big enough to inject herself at any rate,"

"I don't care how old she is," Dave snapped. "You sold 'er heroin and she took it; that makes you just as big a fuckwit as she is,"

"So what, I sell a bit of crack here and there but you're allowed to run about with Pete and the lads beating people shitless with no consequences?" Jake laughed. "How the fuck does that one work out, bruv?"

"No consequences?" Dave narrowed his eyes. "Last year, Pete almost fuckin' died because of the GSE. Bovver killed a bloke, Mikey Mullins and the Esdon lads both got done in…don't you fuckin' sit there and tell me that I don't know about consequences,"

"It didn't stop you though, did it?"

"Nah," Dave shook his head. "Because back then I was an arrogant little bastard just like you who thought that the bad shit would 'appen to everyone but me and y'know something sunshine? I 'ad to learn the hard way that it didn't; you try telling your best mates fiancé that he's in a coma and there's a chance he won't wake up when she's pregnant with his kid, you try watching lads that you grew up with get buried one after the other…go through that and then maybe you can sit there and whine about how hard your life is but until then, you can shut your fuckin' gob."

Staring down at his scuffed white trainers, Jake shook his head and drummed his fingers nervously on the table top. The only other sound in the room was the grandfather clock next to the fireplace and that, combined with his brother's heated gaze was enough to make beads of sweat appear on his forehead.

"So that money I gave you at Christmas when you said you was gonna start that art course in Docklands?" Dave stared at him hard and cursed under his breath when Jake looked up at him, his eyes glazed over.

"Fuck!" Dave shouted, lacing his hands together beside his head and walking over to the window.

"I don't know what I'm meant to say to you, Dave," Jake laughed. "I don't know what you fuckin' want me to say."

"I want you to tell me when you started fuckin' lying to me!" Dave shouted. "I want you to realise how fucked up you are and that if you'd told me about this sooner, I would 'ave done everything, anything I fuckin' could to help you get out of it! You're my little brother, Jake. You're my little brother and you're fuckin' up your life before its even properly got started,"

He angrily kicked over the newspaper holder next to the fireplace and sent old magazines and holiday brochures that his parents would look at but never go on sprawling across the pristine white carpet.

A faint jingling noise drifted down the hall and Jake's eyes widened as he realised that it was his parents coming home. He looked up at Dave in horror and stuttered, tripping over himself as he fought to run upstairs.

He jumped when Dave caught his arm and held him, meeting his eyes and shaking his head slowly.

"Not this time, mate," he told him, seeing the panic in the younger man's eyes.

"Oh bloody 'ell," Dave's mum laughed, coming into the large living rroom and dropping her purse on the sofa nearest the door. "Ello stranger," she grinned at Dave, walking over and kissing his cheek, the smile bled of her face as she turned and looked at Jake. "Christ alive, what 'appened to you?" she gasped, taking his face into her hands. "Greg, come look at your son, would you?"

"Jesus," the older man breathed, nodding to Dave and coming to stand in front of his sons. "What the bloody hell happened?"

Dave felt Jake shaking next to him and clapped him on the back.

"Why don't you sit down, eh mum?" he smiled. "I'll go put the coffee on,"

"David, what's going on?" she pleaded. "I don't like this one little bit,"

"It's alright, mum," Dave nodded to her. "He's fine, aren't you mate?"

Jake turned to look at him with tears in his eyes as he nodded slowly, his body shaking even more.

"Yeah," he whispered. "I'll be fine,"

"Level 4…doors opening."

Pete listened to the now all too familiar electronic voice and smiled as a pretty nurse stepped in, moving next to him and bringing a monitor stand with her.

Natalie was on the seventh floor so he didn't have long to go, but he wasn't a fan of elevators. He liked open spaces, preferably a football pitch with a few Hammers scattered over it beating another team to shit while he had a beer in his hand.

Digging his wallet out of his jacket pocket, he checked to see if he had any change left for parking and instead found himself staring at the photo of Allie and Poppy he had taken not long ago.

His daughter was sat in her buggy wrapped up snugly in her snow gear as she laughed at some ducks which were approaching her, a piece of half chewed bread in her chubby little hand. Allie was crouched next to her, a woolly hat pulled over her ears as she grinned at the camera, laughing at whatever Pete had been saying to her.

"Is she yours?"

Pete blinked and looked at the pretty nurse, her dark hair clipped up around her face as she smiled warmly at the photo.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Pete laughed, tilting his wallet and showing her the picture. Jesus, he was turning into one of those dads.

"She's stunning," the nurse grinned. "Look at those big blue eyes,"

"Yeah, well you can take my word for it that she's got a set of lungs to match," Pete snorted.

"They all do at first," she laughed. "Wait until she starts talking, that's when it gets interesting," she smiled at him and he noted her name badge read Bethany. "Before you know it she'll be sixteen and bringing home her first boyfriend,"

"Over his dead body," Pete told her, only half joking.

She laughed and took one last look at the photo before the doors opened on her floor.

"Nice meeting you," she nodded, stepping out onto the ward and checking her watch before turning left and dashing down the hall.

How nurses managed to work like that he would never understand.

Glancing back down at the photo, he grinned at the one next to it of just him and Allie which had been taken about five months into their relationship. Bored out of their brains on a double date with Dave and Lucy, they had bundled into a photo booth in the Trocadero centre and hidden, eventually realising that they could pass the time by actually putting some money in and taking a few photos. The bottom one where he had almost fallen off the dingy plastic stool laughing at a face she was pulling and brought her down with him was by far his favourite.

"Level 7…doors opening,"

Breaking out of his reverie, Pete flipped his wallet shut and stepped out onto the floor, grimacing as the familiar smell of disinfectant and stale, over processed air hit him full force.

The journey to Natalie's room was one he was certain he could do with his eyes shut given he'd paced the same tiny corridor over and over again last night. Rubbing his face tiredly, he took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

"Can I help you?"

Pete frowned at the nurse who was stood next to the now empty bed, the old sheets crumpled in the laundry bin, a fresh set waiting to be put on.

"Uh, my cousin was in here," Pete looked at her. "Natalie Dunham…has she moved rooms or something?"

The woman's face fell slightly and Pete suddenly didn't feel all that well. She glanced out into the reception area and then back at him, her eyes giving away just how nervous she was.

"Mr Dunham," she put the cotton sheet she was holding down onto the bed and gave him her full attention. "I'm so sorry…someone should have called you earlier, I was informed that they had,"

"Why?" Pete snapped, his palms sweating. "What's happened? Where is she?"

She stared back at him for a moment as though gathering her thoughts and that only seemed to make him more impatient, the doubts and fears filling his mind making it difficult to breathe in the small room.

"Where is she?" he asked again. "Where's Natalie?"

Well go on then, guess where she is!! Could it be rehab or maybe the morgue?? Who knows...well you will as of Sunday. But leave me a review pretty please. This is my first post as an "old" lady so cheer me up! xxx