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CHAPTER 73: COMFORT, LAUGHTER, JOY AND REALITY

 

BRITIN – EARLY SATURDAY MORNING

 

MASTER BEDROOM

 

JUSTIN

 

He alternated between rage and tears all evening and exhausted himself.  Alice and George have been cooking up a storm and we’re going to the Treehouse later on.  I can’t help the little snicker as Milo brings in yet another toy and drops it carefully on his chest.

 

“Milo.”  I whisper as he heads back out.  “Enough now.”

 

Milo pauses and gives me a look that could easily stop traffic.

 

“Apologies, continue.”  I hold my hands up and then get biffed by Lilah for having the nerve to want to brush the hair out of his eyes.  “Jeez, he’s my husband.”  I protest as she settles her chin back on his forehead and, therefore, manages to move the hair herself.

 

Milo comes back in and places the toy in exactly the right spot.  He then settles down at the bottom of the bed. I grab my pad and start to draw.  Two hours later, I have a good outline and am starting to feel a bit sleepy.

 

“Come here.”  He mumbles, reaching for me before he opens his eyes properly. I can tell the moment he notices...  “Why am I covered in cat toys?”

 

“Milo.  And Lilah is behind your head.”  I advise and he gives me a small smile.

 

“Do I look as shit as I feel?”

 

I scrunch up my nose and nod.  “Coffee?”

 

He nods and sits up rubbing his face.  Milo and Lilah both peer intently at him as he sits on the edge of the bed.

 

“We’ll get through this guys; just had a bad day.”  He tells them ruffling them both behind their ears.

 

As I head to make some coffee, Milo follows me and Lilah chirrups at the bathroom door until he opens it.

 

KITCHEN

 

BRIAN

 

Lilah looks disapprovingly at the bowl of obviously too cold salmon and waits for me to do it properly.

 

“What are you guys doing up?”  Alice bustles in.  “Back up or in the lounge both of you.  I’ll bring the coffee.”

 

She has this determined expression on her face that we know not to argue with.  “Yes ma’am and we’ll be in the lounge.”  I salute her and lead Justin out, who is yawning.

 

LOUNGE

 

“What time are we going to the Treehouse?”  Justin covers us with the throw and plays with my ring.

 

“Lunchtime, so after you drink that go back to bed and I’ll wake you in a couple of hours.  I need to go for a run.”

 

He nods into my chest and I sigh.  “I should’ve stopped him earlier.  I felt so guilty for hitting him and…”

 

“He most likely played on that.”  George comes in with the tray.  “He knows what buttons to push with you.  He calls your mother to the stand because of what?  To beat you up again.  Boy Wonder. He knows you hate it when he calls Justin that so what does he do?  Thinking you aren’t there he calls him that, not once but twice…”

 

“Oh fuck!”  I exclaim.

 

“What?”  Alice comes rushing in.

 

“What happened to my mom and sister?”  I look between them as the realisation hits us.

 

“Um I know they were held overnight.”  Justin frowns and then looks at Alice, who quickly looks away.  “Alice?”

 

“You boys must be hungry.  Let me get you something…”

 

“Alice May Stephenson, come back here!”  George orders as she tries to leave.

 

Zelda- as I’ve recently heard him called- must have given them the address.  So when they turned up here with the spawns of Satan, I sent them packing.”  She defiantly looks at us.

 

“Alice, what did you do?”  I groan, seeing a lawsuit in my future.

 

I didn’t do anything without provocation.  Donnelly was tending to the garden. He can vouch for me.”  She starts to smile.  “Also, he doesn’t like rudeness…”

 

Justin looks up at me and I watch the corner of his mouth twitch.  “What did you do when provoked Alice?”  I smirk.

 

“For reasons best known to herself, your sister thought to try and push her way inside so I slapped her on her fat ass.  Then your mother stepped up and that’s when Donnelly picked up the hose…”

 

“Alice!”  I gasp as Justin tries to look suitably mortified but fails.

 

“H-h-how many g-g-got hosed?”  Justin manages to gasp out.

 

“All of them.  He was just defending me.”  Alice points out as George looks incredulously at her.  “I do hope they didn’t get a chill.”

 

“Wh-why didn’t you tell us?  When…when did this happen?”  George demands between guffaws.

 

“Day after they were released but we were all focused on Zee and Faal’s news about Bubble and besides I wanted to show the video…”  Alice is now grinning.

 

“Alice…”

 

“You’re welcome and yes it’s already wiped from the hard drive and the disc is in the car.”

 

“Come on.”  I jostle Justin to get him to sit up and kiss him gently.  “Let’s go up.  Can you wake us up in two hours?”

 

“Judging by that expression, I’ll make it three.”  Alice chuckles.

 

When we get back upstairs despite Alice’s insinuation all we do is sleep.

 

TREEHOUSE – AFTERNOON

 

WORKSHOP

 

ZEE

 

I peer at the sofa from the door.  She’s doing really well.  They are only a few days old.  Faal hasn’t realised what’s happened because she tended to disappear for a few days at a time before she was pregnant.

 

I hear the back door opening and look behind me and spot Faal coming out. Then he goes back inside only to reappear, with a coat.

 

“Bubble, your dad is adorable.”  I whisper and clear my throat as quietly as I can.

 

“What are you doing out here?”  He demands, shaking the coat and helping me into it.

 

“Keeping an eye on our girl.”  I tell him quietly and he frowns so I point to the sofa.

 

“Oh!”  He breathes and he grins hugely.  “When?”

 

“I think about three days ago.  She’s doing great. The vet’s coming in about 20 minutes to check on them.”

 

“How many?”

 

“I think four.  Poor Cloud is missing his sister and can’t understand why he’s not allowed in here.”

 

“Can I just…”  He pleads

 

“No.  But you can tell Hunter he’s a dad.”

 

“Yes.”  He cheers as quietly as he can and leads me back to the house.

 

An hour later, Storm is ensconced in the back bedroom with her kittens, three girls and a boy, and they are all perfectly healthy.

 

KITCHEN

 

FAAL

 

I am so happy that the kittens have arrived. Cloud is now camped outside the door like a little guard. The vet almost lost a hand when he tried to go back in for something he forgot and in the end I had to go and get it.

 

“How do you think they are?”  I smile at the arrival of Mel and Leda with the boys, Gus and Jenny.

 

We had noticed that Brian and Justin were really quiet on the way home.  Because we need to talk to them, it’s just family today.

 

“Spoke to Alice late last night and he was raging but apparently he got the sparkle back this morning.”

 

Zee replies from inside the fridge and pulls out the wings she marinated last night and then picks up her phone.

 

“Who are you texting?”  I wrap my arms round her and look over her shoulder and have to laugh.  “Ah I see.”

 

“Please God, let them still be there.  I can’t bear it anymore.”  She murmurs and then grins when Justin pings a yes back.

 

LOUNGE

 

An hour later, everyone is in and the oxtail is finishing off in the oven.  We are roaring with laughter as Brian’s family are drenched from head to toe and practically hosed off the grounds.

 

Zee comes in with a tray of wings and Debs follows with another.  Jennifer is carrying the other things that go with wings and both Zee and Justin zero in on their salt.

 

“Gimme!”  She demands and then looks down.  “You like this.   Please Bubble, let mommy have this.”  She sprinkles on some salt and inhales the wing and waits.  “Oh yes, finally spice!”  She groans and takes another three.

 

“So what’s this about?  Why just us?”  Zeus asks, looking at Zee and I.

 

I explain about the clearance we have to those who weren’t on the coach and how we are looking after them all.  Jenny’s eyes get really big.

 

“Wow, I never knew about the clearance but it explains a lot.”  Matt smiles.

 

“And is that all?”  Zander looks round the room.

 

“Not quite, we need to apologise to Blake.”  I start to chuckle as he and Ted look confused.  “Because of a favour I called in you had a really, um I believe the word Carl used was rampant Ted on your hands, I mean butt.”

 

“That was because of you two?!”  Blake gasps.  “I couldn’t sit properly for 10 days!  I had to hide in the clinic at one point!”

 

“Blake!”  Ted squeals in mortification and blushing furiously.

 

“10 days?”  Hunter echoes and beams at Ted.  “Way to go Teddy!”

 

“Um those people who are looking after us, are they…”  Jenny trails off.

 

“Yep, they’re body and security guards.”  Zee replies.  “Don’t ask us to call them off because we won’t.”

 

“What about Emily and Francine?”  Jennifer looks panicked.

 

“Like I said.  Everyone.”  I reply and then notice the expression on Brian’s face.

 

“Do we have to worry about Michael?”  Justin asks quietly.

 

“Not for the next 17 and a half years, no.  But even if he, by some miracle, manages to get out before then the STK would be in effect and will remain in effect until he is no longer an issue.”  I reply.  “I know this is scary for you but at the end of the day, he’s done this. And although I feel that this is an act to get him lesser time, we have to worst case scenario this.”

 

“What about Lindsay?”  Jennifer asks.  “You don’t think she’s a danger?”

 

“Again no. She’s too busy concentrating on getting her ass out of jail.  We’ve persuaded Talon to sign over her debt to us.”

 

“Does Lindsay know that?”  Debs grins.

 

“Oh no. That would only ruin the surprise.”  Zee smiles and then turns to Hunter.  “And speaking of surprises, Faal don’t you have something to say?”

 

“Oh yes!”  I grin.  “Hunter you’re a dad.”

 

“Huh?”  He looks confused and Matt shakes his head and whispers in his ear.  “You’re fucking kidding me!  Where are they?”

 

“They are only four days old but…”

 

My sentence trails off as right on cue Storm wanders in with one of the kittens in her mouth and puts it behind Carl’s chair before heading out to get the rest and nobody says a word.

 

“In case you haven’t realised Papa Bear,” Zee smiles, “you’ve just been given permission.”

 

“For what?”  He hands his phone to Gus so that he can film them.

 

“Carl!”  Debs rolls her eyes fondly.

 

“Oh!”  Carl blushes.

 

“So you’re now Grandpapa Bear.”  Jenny decides and Carl grins.

 

KITCHEN

 

ZEE

 

I have to check the oxtail and it’s perfectly cooked. After checking behind me, I take out a piece.

 

“Never could resist oxtail could you?”  Zeus’s voice cuts through the quiet making me jump.

 

I pull out another piece and grab some of the lovely bread that Debs made and brought with her.   We sit on the window seat and finish our sandwiches in silence.

 

“About dad.”  Zeus begins and I immediately tense up.  “Easy baby girl…I mean girls.  I agree with everything you are doing.  But I want your business head on for this one. Is he going to be a problem?”

 

“Depends.”  I sigh and rest my head on his shoulder before he turns us so that I’m sitting between his legs.

 

“On?”  He asks and chuckles as I elbow him in the stomach for the jiggling.

 

“If he serves his time and then slinks off into the sunset to live out his life with his legally gotten gains.”

 

“And you don’t think he will?”

 

“Actually I do. He blames Copthorne so will concentrate his efforts there.”

 

“I agree.”  He sighs.   “But just in case, do you have someone in there?”

 

I look up at him with a frown and he smiles.  “Stupid question, I’m sorry.  But about Michael, I saw that look between Brian and Justin. They are worried and Grady testifying can’t be good.”

 

“To be fair, we don’t have someone watching dad but there’s someone in there for another reason and they’re keeping an eye.  And, no, whatever the hell Grady is coming to say is not going to be pretty. Dad’s told him something about Novotny and that’s why he’s reached out.  After what he did with the condoms...”

 

“You have no idea what?”  He cracks his knuckles in frustration.

 

“Nah, that’s why I’m so fucked off.  They cut us off once we told them what we knew.  We can’t see a damn thing.”

 

“Pity.”

 

“Yeah. We should really call everyone in for dinner.”  I stretch and he grins goofily.  “What?”

 

“So used to seeing you flat stomached.”  He starts to reach around but puts them back down.

 

“For heaven sake.”  I grab his hands and watch the wonderment cross his face.  “Bubble, this is Uncle Zeus.”

 

I haul him to his feet and we head to the lounge to call folks in.

 

“Who is the man inside watching?”  Zeus ask, still grinning.

 

“Jim Stockwell.”  She replies quietly.  “They always do when it’s a person like that just in case they get chatty.”

 

“Fuck.”  He breathes.

 

“Exactly.”

 

 

Chapter End Notes:

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