Ludub

I don't mean that people on the site don't call her Evelyn, I think a few people do... although I always find it odd. For me, it's kind of like calling Billie 'Belinda' or Ricky 'Erica'. It jars a little... but it's fine if you prefer Evelyn (obviously! ). I was just curious. I might be wrong, but I don't think anyone ever really calls her Evelyn on the show anymore, except maybe Zac (very occasionally?). I think Evie called herself 'Evie' even when she was introducing herself to people. I feel like 'Evelyn' kind of became a name that she left behind when she left the cult.

So much to love in this chapter Oscar and Maddy have a kid!!! Oh, this makes me a little sad... but really happy at the same time! I think there might have been better ways to break the news to Evie but I guess it got the job done! (Can I ask a question out of interest. Not a criticism, just curious. Why do you call her Evelyn when she hasn't been Evelyn since she was very first introduced and no-one calls her that?) Love Heath and April. Very funny post proposal moment with him getting frisky a little too soon. Again, I'm really liking Josh and Phoebe together. He's kind of sweet and vulnerable here. Understandable really, seeing as he's kind of at her mercy. If he pisses her off, he'll be homeless. I loved that line about Kat, and I'm glad Phoebe's willing to give Josh a chance. I wonder what's going on with Leah?

Okey dokey, so here we go... Hope you like this one! WARNING: ADULT THEMES & SEXUAL CONTENT! CHAPTER 5 Sunday Morning… “Where is he?!” asked Tori, standing up as soon as she saw Justin walk into the livingroom. She’d heard him come out of the bathroom, but Justin had taken him to his room, and they’d been in there for at least half an hour. She’d been getting anxious. “Is he okay?!” she asked. “I think he’s pretty far from okay” said Justin, heading into the kitchen and filling the kettle, “But he’s in his room now…” he said, turning and leaning his back against the kitchen counter to look at them, “So, I’m gonna make him a cup of tea.” “Has he said anything?” asked Mason. Justin glanced at Raffy in a ‘careful what you say in front of the kid’ kind of way. “Uhhh…” he stalled, “He uhhh…” “She knows” said Tori, sitting down on the arm of the couch and putting her arm around Raffy’s shoulder, “I didn’t think it was fair… keeping it from her” Raffy frowned at him. “At least someone thinks I deserve to be part of this family!” she said huffily. “It’s not like that, Raf!” he said, rolling his eyes and turning back to the boiling kettle. Why did they always have to undermine him like this? It always put him in an awkward position. “We’re just looking out for you” he said, over his shoulder. “Yeah, well…” she replied, pouting and folding her arms across her chest when she saw him glance round at her, “I’m not a little kid!” “Okay!” he said, in an exasperated tone, “I’ll keep that in mind!” He opened the fridge and got the milk out, just as the kettle clicked off. “Well?” asked Tori, “Has he said what happened? Is he… Is he hurt?” This was killing her, not being able to go in there and see how he was for herself. She couldn’t help feeling a little resentful, and it was coming through in her tone. “He’s not really talking” he said, lifting two cups down from the cupboard and dropping two teabags into them, “But at least he’s out of the bathroom… and I got him some warm clothes.” “It’s over 30 degrees!” said Mason, wrinkling his nose in disbelief, “How is he cold?!” “I don’t know…” he said, picking up the cups of tea and a packet of chocolate biscuits to take out to Brody’s room. “I think he took a cold shower or something… Or maybe he’s in shock… or maybe it’s just cos he slept outside all night… but whatever it is, his hands are ice cold! …I mean, like, freezing!” “That could be something serious…” said Tori, standing up and starting to move towards his bedroom, “I want to see him… I need to get a look at him!” “Woah woah woah!” said Justin, stepping into her path, “You do that and he’ll barricade himself in his bedroom!” “I can’t just sit back and do nothing!” she snapped, “If he’s cold, it could be any number of things… Shock, a head injury, blood loss…” She tried to step around Justin again. “I need to examine him!” “He asked me to keep you away” he said, with an apologetic head tilt, “He isn’t ready to deal with people…” “I’m not people!” she snapped, “I’m his sister!” “He’s barely even talking to me!” he reasoned, “You need to let me do this, Tori!” “No, Justin!” she argued, pointing out at the hallway, “I need to! …I need to be in there because I’m a doctor and I have a duty of care!” She tried to push past him again but he wouldn’t move. “Justin!” she shouted, “Get out of my way!” “No, Tori!” he shouted back, “I promised him…” “But Justin?!” she whined, “This is ridiculous!” “I promised him!” he repeated, “And right now, he needs to know that he has someone he can trust!” She stared at him for a moment with pursed lips. She hated it when he went all ‘head of the family on her’! And she hated it even more when he was right! If Brody didn’t want her in there then she had to respect that. She knew that! She’d dealt with her fair share of rape victims in her time. “Fine!” she huffed, sitting back down on the arm of the couch, “But you need to come and get me if he…” “I will” he said, nodding at Mason to look after her, “I’ll keep a close eye on him.” “You’d better!” she said, scowling up at him. She knew that it wasn’t really fair to be angry with him. It wasn’t his fault that Brody felt more comfortable talking to him than to her, but she couldn’t help feeling rejected. They’d both basically raised him! “Can you at least see if he’ll let us take him back to the hospital?” she asked, “We need to find out what happened to him…” “I know that” sighed Justin, “But right now, all I want is to make sure he stays put… We don’t need him running off like that again… He needs to feel safe.” “I’ve let Kat know that he’s back” said Mason, holding up his phone, “She wants to come over to take a statement from him when he’s ready…” “He’s not ready for that” he said, shaking his head, “You haven’t seen him … I don’t know what’s happened but it’s not good.” “He can’t just leave it unreported!” said Tori, “Not when that guy’s out there… maybe doing it to other people!” “I know that!” he snapped, “But he’ll talk when he’s ready… and not before!” “Okay” said Tori, “But you can be the one to tell Kat that!” “Fine with me” he said, as he turned and headed up the hallway. They watched him go and glanced at each other in a worried sort of way. Raffy turned to look at Tori and began to tear up a little. “He is gonna be okay, isn’t he?” she asked. “Yeah, sweetie” she said, resting her head against hers and glancing over at Mason with fear in her eyes, “Of course, he is!” Justin walked up the hallway with the two cups of tea in his hands and the packet of chocolate biscuits under his arm. He was surprised to see Buddy scratching at the base of Brody’s door and giving worried little growls. “Hey! Buddy!” he called, when he got a bit closer, “What are you doing, boy?!” The dog ignored him and continued scratching at the door as though he wanted to dig his way through. His hackles were raised and he was scratching furiously at the gap under the door. It was like there was a rat or a mouse hiding in there. Whatever it was, he wanted at it! “Buds!” he called a bit louder and this time the dog looked up at him. “Come on boy! C’mere!” he called, but the dog ignored him again and went back to digging. Justin turned back down the hall and yelled “Raffy! Can you come and take Buddy outside?! I think he needs to go!” He smiled when the blonde girl came out into the hallway, but frowned a little when she didn’t return his smile. She walked straight past him, taking hold of the dog’s collar, and then passed him again with her nose stuck in the air. “Raf! Come on?!” he pleaded, “Don’t be like that!” She just kept on walking. Buddy kept glancing back as he was pulled away and making a strange sort of high pitched whining noise. He didn’t want to go! Justin put the two cups in one hand so he could open Brody’s door. “Brodes?” he said, in a gentle tone of voice, as he pushed it open, “I made us some tea… Is it okay if I come in again?” He was surprised to see the room so dark. Brody had closed the curtains to keep out the bright morning sunlight. Understandable really, seeing as he’d been out all night and probably hadn’t had any sleep. “Yeah” said Brody, sitting crouched on his bed in a pair of jeans and a heavy long sleeve t-shirt. They’d thrown his ‘old man’ clothes in the wash basket. He had his arms wrapped around his knees and he was gently rocking back and forth where he sat. He nodded for Justin to set the tea down on the bedside table, trying to hide the fact that the thought of it was making his stomach churn, and desperately trying to give him a smile. “Sorry!” he said, as his attempt at a smile turned to a grimace and he started crying again, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me!” That wasn’t true. Justin sat down on the bed and placed the two cups on the bedside table. “It’s okay, mate” he said softly, “It’s okay to cry.” He set the packet of biscuits down on the bed between them and gave him a soft little smile. “You don’t understand!” cried Brody, burying his face in his knees, “You don’t know!” “You could try to tell me?” he said, in a coaxing tone of voice, “Mate…. There’ll be no judgement here.” Brody gave a little snort and wiped his eyes with the heel of his hands. “You wouldn’t say that if you knew” he said, bursting into tears again, “You wouldn’t!” “Try me” said Justin. “I can’t” he said, shaking his head, “I just… I just can’t!” “Mate, there is nothing you could do” said Justin, reaching over and squeezing his shoulder, “Nothing you could do that would make me not love you…” He looked him in the eye and shook his head a little sadly. “Don’t you understand that?!” “Not this!” said Brody, shaking his head in a decisive way, “Not this! You won’t forgive this!” Justin furrowed his brows at him. How could he think that he would ever think badly of him for something like this?! He’d been sexually assaulted, for Christ sake! Did he think that he was going to tell him he deserved it for being gay, or something?! That he’d brought it on himself?! What kind of Neanderthal did he think he was?! The world had moved on from views like that, surely?! He was a little offended that he’d think so little of him! “Brody” he began, looking down at the bedcovers in an embarrassed sort of way, “It… It’s okay if you’re… y’know… if you’re gay?” ***** Back to Saturday morning (around 3am) Brody staggered along the beach in only his underwear. He had the rest of his clothes in a little bundle in his arms. He’d simply grabbed them and run! He hadn’t taken the time to put them on because he’d just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, but now he was holding them to his chest in the way that a small child would hold a soft toy. It was comforting in a way. Maybe it was some sort of instinctual thing of needing to be held, or to hold someone else when you’re hurting? He was in pain. Not just physical, but emotional too. He couldn’t stop shaking. So many thoughts were whirring around in his mind…. Why had he gone there tonight?! What had he been thinking?! How could he have been such an idiot?! What was he going to do now?! To anyone passing by, he would have looked a rather shocking sight. He had a blood smear right across his cheek from where he’d wiped his nose, and his face was red and blotchy from all the crying. He looked a mess! He gazed around the moonlit beach and gave a relieved little sigh. At least there was no-one there to see him. No-one there to make him feel even more ashamed of himself than he already did! It was dark, except for the light of the waning moon, and the beach was deserted now that all the residents of Summer Bay had gone to bed. He was the only lost soul, still out and about at this late hour, and walking along the water’s edge. He stopped walking, and set his little bundle of clothes on the sand, before staring out to sea. There was no wind tonight. The water was calm and tranquil, contrasting sharply with the utter turmoil that was raging inside of him! He glanced up and down the beach again, to make sure that no-one else was there, and then slowly slid his boxer shorts down. He wasn’t usually one for nudity, and part of him was terrified that he’d get caught skinny-dipping, but right now, he needed to feel clean. He needed to wash away what had happened tonight! But more than anything, he just wanted to forget. He edged his way into the water. It was cold, and he was quickly shivering and shaking, with chattering teeth, but it wasn’t so bad once he got a bit further in. He stuck his head below the surface and took a mouthful of salty sea water. Coming back up, he held the water in his mouth, and swished it about to try to clean away the taste of Kris. Then he spat it out. He felt his stomach churn a little, cringing at the thought of what they’d just done in that hotel room. He’d never felt more disgusted with himself. He felt dirty… and used. He began to wash himself, trying desperately to remove any trace of this evening’s events, but he winced a little with discomfort. Kris had ended up hurting him, even though he’d promised not to. As it turned out, he’d been right to be worried. That same question whirred round and round in his head. ‘Why did you do this?!’ he asked himself over and over, ‘Why did you go there with him when you know you’re not gay?! Why did you do that?!’ He didn’t have an answer. Tears began to well up in his eyes. Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him on the beach, and he froze stock still. There was someone there! There was someone watching him! ‘Oh God!’ he screamed inside his own head, ‘It’s him! He’s followed me here!’ He was in full panic mode. His heart was going a mile a minute and he felt like his legs had suddenly turned to jelly. What was he going to do?! Here he was, naked in the water, and there was nowhere for him to go! He wanted to escape! He wanted to disappear! What he didn’t want was to ever see that man again! He didn’t want to see him. He didn’t want to talk him. And he definitely didn’t want to be anywhere near him! The thought of him touching him again in any way just made his skin crawl… Slowly, he began to turn around. The presence behind him hadn’t moved away. He could feel his eyes on him, as though they were burning a hole in his flesh. Why couldn’t he just leave him alone, he wondered?! He began to shudder at the terrible thought that he might be back for round two! ‘Please go away’ he pleaded with him silently, ‘I didn’t want it before… and I don’t want it now!’ As he turned to face the beach, he saw him standing there on the sand. It looked as though he was waiting for him, just standing there beside the pile of crumpled clothes, and watching him from a distance. A cold shiver ran down his back as he met the other man’s eyes. There was something truly threatening about the way that his gaze lingered on exposed parts of his body. It was like he was simply a piece of meat and there to be devoured! He was petrified! “What… What do you want?!” he asked, unable to hide the tremble in his voice, “What are you doing here?!”

Haha!!! I'm glad I can still surprise people... I couldn't really kill Heath. It just didn't feel right. Seeing as he's just spent I don't know how many chapters (but really only 1 day) lying in a shallow grave, I thought it only fitting that he get to ride to the rescue. And who wouldn't want that door to open and see Heath there?! Of course it's Kat's fault! Can't keep her nosy beak out of anything (especially when she's been explicitly told to!) and always ends up getting people killed! Total nightmare of a woman! Thank you! I was quite pleased with that line, lol! You'll have to wait and see Thanks for taking the time to comment folks, much appreciated! I'll try to have the final chapter up sometime over the weekend.

Ah Red I absolutely loved this chapter! Loved the flashbacks to the conversation between Phoebe and the warden, and between Kyle Ricky and Josh, about the baby. I don't think it would be an easy thing to come to terms with if you thought you were going to be locked up for your child's whole life, so I can understand Josh's initial reaction. Saddling a child with a dad who's in prison for their entire childhood might not be the kindest thing for the kid. He might have been better to let them move on without him. It might have been the less selfish thing to do... Lucky he didn't have to! I'm looking forward to seeing where you go with this - will he settle into fatherhood, given that he had no positive male role models himself? And I absolutely loved that awkward little scene between him and Phoebe, and her refreshingly honest admission that she basically jumped Ash as soon as she was released. I'm really liking them together Have to say, I'm very surprised by Hunter's reappearance in this (as what would initially appear as a relatively reformed character? ) I kind of expected him to have fallen in with an even worse crowd during his time in prison and to have become even more angry and damaged as a result of it. Putting him with Darcy is interesting (I never would have imagined you doing that!). I was trying to figure out their age difference... and I was thinking that Heath might have a problem with that (but then he can't really say anything, since he bagged himself April at an indecently young age!) Given that this is Hunter (and this is your story), is Heath right to be worried? That's the question. Kat and Justin? wrinkles nose (simply because I hate Kat with a passion, and quite like Justin so I don't really want to have to picture that) but hey ho... Nate and Bianca is interesting - I actually think they'd work well. I'm enjoying getting my head around all your couplings. Quite entertaining! Did I say that I loved this chapter? I really did!

Thanks guys! Glad you enjoyed it! Very true Brody is sending out a lot of mixed signals, but he did say 'stop'. Hahaha! It was a bit steamy, wasn't it?! Kinda to be expected in my stories though, lets face it! That's a hard one to answer! lol! Oh and thanks for the puntastic other part to your comment.... You're gonna run out of 'spike' puns eventually though! haha!

Thanks Red! I spent a lot of time on this chapter so I'm glad you liked it I wanted to show Brody's inner conflict here. He's doing one thing and thinking something else entirely. It's like there's a war going on in his mind all the time, between wanting to be 'normal' and do what other people do, and the fact that he really just doesn't enjoy sex. And yes, Kris should have listened when he said 'stop'. He probably should learn to read the signs a little better too.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment! As always, I really appreciate the feedback. You guys are great! I apologise for the big gaps in posting - I have the next chapter half-written, so I should have it ready to go by tomorrow night (hopefully!)

Okay, so... I am exceedingly nervous about this chapter I hope you like it... WARNING: ADULT THEMES & SEXUAL CONTENT! (You have been warned!) CHAPTER 4 Back to Friday night… “This is me” said Kris, giggling a little anxiously as he fumbled with the keys to his hotel room. He was obviously quite excited. So much so that he couldn’t get his fingers to work properly and he ended up dropping them on the floor. “Sorry!” he laughed, as he bent over to pick them up, “Butter fingers!” He was also drunk from the two bottles of wine that they’d had after dinner. Brody gave him a nervous smile. He didn’t know what had possessed him to come here with him, but he was here now, and in some ways, he felt obligated. He wondered if it could have been the wine? He was pretty drunk, and he was definitely behaving in a way that was very out of character, but there was just something about this man that drew him to him. He couldn’t explain it. It was like they were connected in some way. “Don’t worry” he said, as he watched the other man unlock the door, “It’s fine.” Kris pushed the door open, revealing a hotel room, with romantic lighting and a big double bed right in the middle. It was one of those high-end boutique type places, with lots of dark wood, and dipped lighting, but crisp white bed linen. It was down by the beach and all one side of the room was glass. He dropped the keys on the table by the door and turned with a little smile. “Well?” he asked, as Brody dithered in the doorway, “Are you coming in or what?” “Uhhh… yeah” mumbled Brody, as he stepped inside, “Just for one, though, yeah?” He didn’t know why he’d accepted this invitation. He’d been invited back for a drink, but it wasn’t like there was any doubt about what that meant! If they’d wanted another drink, they could have stayed in the bar. Coming back here was for one reason, and one reason only. They both knew it! The thought of having sex with him, both disgusted and intrigued him. He’d never enjoyed sex before, but he’d never had sex with a man before either, so maybe it would make all the difference? Maybe this was what he’d been missing out on for all these years?! ‘Maybe I’m gay’ he tried to tell himself, ‘Maybe that’s why I’ve never liked sex with women… How will I know if I never try it?” Deep down, he knew it wasn’t true. “Course!” said Kris, with a knowing little smile, “What d’ya feel like?” He headed over to the minibar, crouching down in front of it, and opening the door. “Sooo… we’ve got whiskey, vodka, gin…” he said, moving the little bottles about, “Um… beer… wine?” “Whiskey?” said Brody, shifting from one foot to the other in an anxious sort of way, “No ice.” Kris nodded and pulled one of the little bottles out of the fridge to set on the counter above him. As he rummaged around in the fridge a little more, trying to decide what to have himself, Brody couldn’t resist having a sneaky little look at his bum. He had to admit, he did have a nice body. He was toned, but not one of those muscle-head gym guys, and he had nice tanned skin. He could do a lot worse, he thought to himself. ‘But am I physically attracted to him?’ he asked himself, “Do I want to have sex with him?’ He really didn’t know. He spotted a leather armchair and decided to go and sit in it. Maybe he’d look less nervous if he was sitting down? Maybe he’d feel less nervous? Anything was worth a try! “I’ll just get the glasses” said Kris, giving him a little wink as he walked past him. The glasses were in the bathroom. Brody watched him go. He looked at the shape of his back and shoulders as he walked away from him. He tried to imagine what it would feel like to have those arms around him and that naked body pressed against his own. It would be very different from his previous experiences with women, that was for sure! For one thing, it was clear that Kris would be the one in control, and that he would have to take the more submissive role. He was pretty sure that he was going to be the ‘bottom’ if it ever came to it and that really frightened him. He wondered if it was going to hurt. He hoped not! But then again, maybe he’d enjoy it? Gay men obviously did! They couldn’t all be masochists! “So” said Kris, coming back in with the empty glasses, “Let’s have that drink then, eh?” “Yeah… um…” stammered Brody, “Cool… Thanks…” He picked up a leaflet off the arm of the chair and pretended to read it. He couldn’t really see straight enough to read it but he needed to do something to distract himself! ‘How drunk am I?!’ he asked himself. “No ice?” checked Kris... When he didn’t get an answer, he turned to look at him and repeated it in a louder voice. “NO ICE?” “What?!” asked Brody, jumping a little and dropping the leaflet. “Oh, yeah, sorry… no ice” he said, picking it up again with an embarrassed little smile. “Sorry” he said, before dropping it on the table in front of him. “Relax!” said Kris, pouring the drinks into the glasses and then handing his to him. He gave him a sympathetic little head tilt and said, “I know this is your first time.” “What?!” asked Brody, looking up at him in shock, “How… I mean…?!” “Oh, come on!” laughed Kris, “You’ve got ‘first-timer’ written all over you!” “Thanks” said Brody, flushing a little red and looking down at the floor. This was mortifying! “Don’t be embarrassed!” said Kris, lifting his gin and tonic and coming to sit on the arm of the chair beside him, “Everyone has a first time…” He took a sip of his gin and gave a little shrug. “I mean… I don’t know if this is just some experimental phase for you…” he said, “If it is, that’s cool…I don’t mind… But we don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do…” “I uh…” said Brody, giving an embarrassed little shrug. He didn’t know what to say. “Seriously!” continued Kris, “If you just wanna have a drink and then say goodnight… That’s fine.” Brody looked up at him again and gave him a relieved little smile. It was certainly true that he liked him. He’d really enjoyed tonight in the bar. This was the most fun that he’d had with someone in a very long time, and he felt a strange bond with this man that he couldn’t explain. They kind of ‘got’ each other and there was definitely an attraction there! It might not have been sexual, but it was definitely there! He found him funny, and very charismatic, and he liked it when he smiled… but he wasn’t so sure about seeing him naked. The thought of having to deal with another man’s penis made him feel a little bit sick… But then he’d never really felt that attracted to anyone. He certainly didn’t like lady’s bits, so it wasn’t about him being the wrong gender. He just didn’t want to be that up close and personal with anyone else’s genitals… Male or female! He even had mixed feelings about his own! But maybe this whole sex thing was just something that he needed to get past? Maybe if they had sex tonight, then it might be easier the next time? Maybe he’d just get used to it, like having an embarrassing medical exam that got a little bit easier each time you had to do it? Not something you enjoyed, but not that bad once you stopped worrying about it. And maybe it wouldn’t actually be that bad? If it wasn’t, then maybe he’d be able to do it more regularly, and actually have a ‘normal-ish’ relationship with someone? Maybe even with Kris? If he could have a boyfriend that he got on with as well as he did Kris, then maybe he could put up with having to sleep with him every now and then? It might even be easier with a man because he’d be able to take a more passive role? ‘Lie there and think of England’, so to speak. Or Australia, he supposed? Maybe it was just the price he’d have to pay for companionship? …He took a deep breath and then threw his glass of whiskey back in one go. “I mean it…” said Kris, looking a little disappointed, “I really enjoyed tonight…” He’d seen him throw his whiskey back, and he figured if he was drinking it so quickly, it must mean that he wanted to leave. He gave a little nod, when he saw him start to get to his feet. “So, if you want to go…” he started to say, “…that’s okay.” Suddenly Brody reached for him, pulling him forward by his shirt, and planting a forceful kiss on his lips. ‘Oh God!’ he thought, feeling surprised at his own actions, ‘What are you doing, Brody?! What the hell are you doing?!’ “Oh!” said Kris, pulling back for a moment and looking at him in surprise, “Are… are you sure?!” “I don’t want to go” said Brody, taking his glass out of his hand and setting it down on the coffee table, “I want you to show me.” ‘What are you even saying?!’ he screamed at himself, ‘You want him to show you?! To show you what?! …Are you insane?!’ “Okay” said Kris, with a surprised little snort. Brody smiled and gave a little nod. On the outside, he looked relatively calm, but inside he was panicking! His heart was beating so fast it felt like it might burst. ‘What are you doing?!’ he screamed at himself, as he found himself kissing him again. A hot meaty tongue suddenly found its way inside his mouth and he felt his stomach give a lurch. It was disgusting, and he wasn’t enjoying the feel of it at all, but he tried to concentrate on doing what he was ‘supposed’ to do. ‘Act normal!’ he scolded himself, ‘Pretend that you’re enjoying this! Everyone else in the world enjoys this stuff, so what the hell is wrong with you?!” “Come on!” said Kris, getting up from the arm of the chair with a look of excitement. He put his arms around his waist and leaned in to give him a tentative little peck on the lips. When he saw Brody smile, he went back in for a much harder kiss, and pulled him in close against his body. ‘Oh God!’ he said to himself, when he felt Kris’ groin press up against him. There was a noticeable hardness there! He was clearly a lot more excited about this than he was! They began to stagger across the room as Kris became a little more aggressive about things. Before he knew it, he’d allowed him to pull his shirt up over his head, and now he was kissing his neck and chest. He couldn’t quite figure out what to do with his hands, so he reached up and tangled his fingers in his hair. That only led to Kris kissing him even more passionately, so much so he could hardly breathe. It was all quite frantic, and he felt like it was moving at much too fast a pace. It was clear that he was being pushed, step by step, backwards towards the bed. ‘Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!’ he repeated to himself, as his heart thumped and thumped, in sheer panic, ‘What are you doing?!’ Was he really going to do this, he asked himself?! Was he going to go through with it?! Was he really going to let this man have his way with him?! Suddenly he was on his back, and staring at Kris in fear. He watched him swiftly get undressed. He’d never seen someone take their shirt, trousers, and underwear off so quickly, and yet in such a seductive manner. This clearly wasn’t his first rodeo! He gave an involuntary gasp when a now naked Kris climbed on top of him and kissed him. The heat of the other man’s skin against his own and the sudden closeness of his body was a shock. ‘Oh God!’ he said to himself again, as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. It was as though it was happening to someone else! He couldn’t move! He felt frozen, somehow. Paralysed! It was as though he was simply a bystander and unable to do anything to stop it. A naked and very aroused man was now straddling him, and undoing his belt with practiced ease. “You’re really hot, you know that?!” smiled Kris, as he continued to undress him, “I mean, this whole shy-boy act is a real turn on…” He tugged his trousers and boxers down to mid-thigh level and then gave him a mischievous little smile. It was done in a ‘what do we have here?’ kind of way. Brody glanced down at his own crotch and flushed a little with embarrassment. It seemed that his body was ready to go, even if he wasn’t! Within a moment, all of his clothes were lying in a dishevelled pile on the bedroom floor and they were both fully naked! How had this happened, he wondered to himself?! “W-wait” he stammered, as Kris began to kiss down his abdomen towards his groin. “Wait!” he gasped again, this time reaching down to pull him away. “Oh, don’t tell me you’ve gone all shy on me again?!” teased Kris, as he moved back up to kiss him on the mouth. “I mean… it’s cute and everything… but…” “Please… just…” he managed to get out between kisses, “Just… wait!” He kept having to tell himself to try to relax his mouth. All the girls that he’d ever kissed had complained about that. One of them had even said that he kissed like a ‘letterbox’! He’d taken it to heart, and become more and more self-conscious about it, so fixing it was easier said than done. And he wasn’t enjoying this at all, truth be told, so it really wasn’t easy to relax. “Wait?!” he pleaded again, as Kris’ hands began to wander a little too much for comfort, “Wait, Kris?! Please?!” “Wait… for… what?” asked Kris, slipping his hand up Brody’s inner thigh with a mischievous little grin, “You know you want this!” “Oh ****!” exclaimed Brody, jolting a little when Kris’ hand took hold of him unexpectedly. He gave an involuntary groan, part pleasure and part shock, and reached for his hand to stop him. “Stop!” he said, pulling at his wrist, “Wait, please?!” He was really panicking now! He didn’t want this! He didn’t want him! “Shhh!” laughed Kris, ignoring his protests and stopping his mouth with a hard and passionate kiss. “It’s okay!” he said, coming up for air with an excited smile. “It’s okay…” he insisted, continuing his efforts despite Brody’s half-hearted attempts to stop him. “Relax!” he whispered again, with a little smirk, “Shhh shhh shhh! Relax! …It’s okay!” He didn’t think that Brody really wanted him to stop… ‘Okay’ thought Brody, desperately trying to relax as panic raged through his body, ‘Just try… try to enjoy it… Just try!’ He could feel tears threatening to come, but he was telling himself off in his head. ‘Other people enjoy these things!’ he told himself, trying to zone in on some of the more pleasurable sensations, and ignore how violated and embarrassed he felt, ‘Normal people enjoy this stuff…” he told himself, “Just try to be normal for once! Stop being such a freak!’ It was certainly easier said than done! Having someone that he’d only just met fondle his private parts was not something that he was used to. It was a little bit like having his testicles examined that time at the hospital… or having a catheter put in. Immensely embarrassing when you weren’t used to it, but something that had to be done. Something that had to be got through… The only difference between that time and this, was that the person doing the fondling was obviously hoping for a very different outcome! ‘Pretend!’ he told himself, clamping his eyes shut for a moment to try to stifle his tears, ‘Just pretend you’re enjoying it…’ He let out a little moan, looking up into Kris’ eyes, and doing his best to make it seem like he was okay with this. He even tried to force a smile. ‘Maybe it’ll get better…’ he told himself. “Don’t worry!” whispered Kris, leaning down to give him a kiss on the neck, “I’ll be gentle… You’re in good hands…”

Thanks everyone for the lovely comments! Really glad you're all enjoying it! It is a little bit annoying that they think they have to wrap her up in cotton wool all the time. She's not that young, and keeping her in the dark about stuff always seems to backfire... That said, maybe in these circumstances, it's the right decision? Oh, I'm very pleased! I do want to keep you guessing! There are a couple of little clues in the previous chapters, but they might not be too obvious (hopefully) Don't worry though, it will all become clear... Hahaha! Yeah, well, Mason always strikes me as very blase when it comes to family crises. I could see him munching his way through a sandwich while everyone else is panicking. He never seems too worried (when he really should be!) Yeah, a big relief for everyone... but what was he doing while he was gone? Where did he go? That's the question! I know! Poor Buddy. He's probably thinking 'Uh-oh!... the humans are arguing again! ... but I've only just come back in!' Thanks for reading everyone! New chapter going up this evening (just doing a final read through!)

Okay, that's pretty funny! After your last comment I was trying to think of a situation in which they could have had a quickie... would have been an interesting sight for the guards to come back to! You know what they say 'if this van's a rockin', don't come a knockin'!' Like the idea of Kyle and Ricky together. That makes sense! And weirdly, I kinda like Josh with Phoebe as a couple, which I really wasn't expecting to. Interested to see where you go with it... And V3?! haha! Love it!

Thanks everyone for the kind comments! I really appreciate it and I'm really glad that you're all enjoying it! Hope you like this one! WARNING: ADULT THEMES! CHAPTER 3 Sunday Morning… “Justin, you know they said they’ll call us as soon as they hear anything” said Mason, sitting down at the kitchen table with a sandwich and a packet of crisps, “Kat said she’d call” He opened the packet and held it out to his older brother. He could see that he looked tired, and he knew that he hadn’t eaten or slept since yesterday. He’d only just come home! He shook the packet a little to get his attention. “No… thanks” said Justin, waving away the crisps in a frustrated sort of way and setting his phone down on the table. “I can’t just sit around doing nothing!” he groaned, glancing over at his younger brother with a look of disapproval. “I don’t know how you can eat at a time like this…” he said, “Brody could be hurt… He could be dead for all we know!” “He’s not” said Mason, with a mouth full of ham salad sandwich, “We’d know if he was…” “You can’t know that” sighed Justin, “People just go missing.” He picked up his phone, checking it for the millionth time today, and sighing when he saw that there were no new messages. Tori was out driving around now and she’d said that she’d let him know as soon as she found him. He’d been doing the same for hours! Just driving around and asking everyone he saw. There was no sign of him. “Yeah, they do” mumbled Mason, still chewing through a huge chunk of white bread, “But he’s only been gone a little while…” “21 hours!” said Justin, “He’s been gone all night! …And he’s not in any fit state to be wandering about out there.” “Yeah, about that?” said Mason, waggling his half-eaten sandwich at him as he tried to swallow a mouthful of bread, “I don’t understand what the fuss is… I thought Tori said he’d just overdone it and passed out on the beach?” “There’s more to it than that” sighed Justin, “But we didn’t want to tell you when Raffy was here.” He glanced around him to make sure that she wasn’t within hearing range and then got up to go and check that she wasn’t hiding out in the hallway. They’d sent her to walk Buddy about fifteen minutes ago, but she did have a habit of sneaking back in unnoticed, just so she could eavesdrop. Once satisfied that she wasn’t around he turned back to Mason and shook his head a little sadly. “We think…” he said, lowering his voice a little, “We think he might have been assaulted.” “Assaulted?!” exclaimed Mason, suddenly getting to his feet, “By who?!” “Shhhh!” warned Justin, motioning with his hand for him to keep his voice down, “We’re not sure… He was talking to some restaurant reviewer the other night, and the guy was coming on pretty strong… Being all flirty… Next thing Brody’s on the beach naked and dead to the world… I mean… out cold! Like he’d been drugged or something… or I don’t know… hit on the head maybe? …It could be either…” “So” said Mason, looking wide-eyed in shock, “When you said ‘assaulted’… you meant…?” “Yeah…” said Justin, nodding in a deliberate way, “That’s what I mean… He’s been acting pretty weird…” “How’s he meant to act?!” asked Mason, grimacing at the thought of it, “I mean… you think… you think he was…” He couldn’t even bring himself to say the words. He just hoped it wasn’t true! “Yeah… I do” admitted Justin. “He was what?” asked Raffy, skipping through the back door with Buddy on his lead. “You think he was what?” she asked, looking back and forth between the two with narrowed eyes. It was clear that they’d been caught out talking about something that they didn’t want her to hear. She was having none of it. Surely, she was part of this family too?! “Justin?!” she whined, when she got no response, “You think Brody was what?! He’s my brother too!” “Oh… just that he must have been pretty drunk” he said, going over to her and putting his arm around her shoulder, “Don’t worry, Raf… He’ll be home soon.” “You never tell me anything!” she groaned, “I’m not a little kid! When are you gonna stop treating me like one?!” “We don’t” said Mason, “That’s the truth… we were just talking about how drunk Brody must have been.” “Yeah… right” she said sarcastically, “That’s why you went all quiet when I came in!” She let Buddy off his lead and shook her head at them in disgust. “I’ll go to my room then, shall I? So, you can talk about stuff when I’m not here?!” With that she pushed past Justin, and started heading for her room in a strop. “Maybe Brody had the right idea?!” she shouted as she headed out into the hallway, “Maybe I should run away from home too?!” “Raf…” shouted Justin, as she stomped down the hallway, “Don’t be like tha…” He didn’t get to finish the word before the door slammed shut. “Great!” he muttered, “Just what we need…” Mason just rolled his eyes and took another bite of his sandwich. There was a sound of jangling keys at the front door and they both turned to look with hopeful expressions. Maybe he’d just come home? “I couldn’t find him” sighed Tori, as she came through the door, throwing her bag on the floor, and herself on the couch, “I asked everyone I saw… I showed them his photo… Nothing… No-one’s seen him!” “Did you try all the guys at Salt?” asked Mason, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. “We’ve tried everyone” said Justin, sitting down on the arm of the couch and putting his arm around Tori. He gave her shoulder a little squeeze and she looked up at him with a tired sigh. Neither of them had stopped since Brody had run past them yesterday morning. He could see how tired she looked. “Phoebe’s got people out looking round the caravan park and up and down the beach” he said, glancing at his phone again, “I don’t know what else we can do… We’re running out of places to look.” “Kat said they’ll put out a missing person’s report once it’s been 24 hours” said Tori, “It’ll be on the TV and radio news…” Suddenly they all turned to look when they heard the sound of running water, as though the shower had been turned on in the bathroom. “Is that Raffy?” asked Tori, looking at the other two boys. “I don’t know” said Mason, starting to make his way towards the corridor, “I think she had a shower about an hour ago?” Tori looked up at Justin and gave a little shrug before getting to her feet and following Mason out into the hallway. All three of them gathered outside the door and Justin knocked a little timidly. “Raf?!” he called, before knocking a second time, “Are you in the shower?!” Raffy opened her bedroom door, up the corridor behind them, and stuck her head out. “No… I’m in here” she said, sounding a little confused, “Who’s in the bathroom?” Justin glanced at her and then at the other two with a look of surprise. “Well it’s not Buddy!” said Mason. They all rolled their eyes at him. It couldn’t be Phoebe either. She was still out and about searching… so that only left one other person that it could be! “Brody?” called Justin, pressing his ear up against the door and listening for any sound inside, “Mate, is that you in there?!” There was no answer, but his eyes widened when he realised that he could hear crying. It wasn’t loud, but it was the unmistakable sound of someone softly sobbing. “Mate?” he called out again, “Please, Brodes?! We just want to help… Please let us in?!” Tori pressed her ear against the door too and locked eyes with Justin. She made a little grimace when she realised what she was listening to. Her heart went out to him. “Please, Brodes?!” she pleaded, “We all love you… and we… we just want to help… Can you open the door for us?” “Go away!” came a sudden throaty scream, full of pain and anguish. He was sitting on the floor of the shower with his knees pulled up to his chest and tears were flooding down his face. He didn’t want anyone to see him right now. He just wanted to be alone. Why couldn’t they understand that?! “Just go!” he begged them. “Barty?” pleaded Tori, using his old name and stroking the door with her hand as she began to cry, “Please?! Don’t push us away…” “Mate, please?!” called Mason, “We’re not going anywhere…” “I don’t want you!” sobbed Brody, “I don’t want any of you!” It wasn’t true. “Well, mate…” said Justin, “You’ve got us whether you want us or not… and I’m gonna break this door down if you don’t open it!” He took a step back to put his shoulder against it. “No!” mouthed Tori, shaking her head at him in admonishment. She knew that Brody needed to open the door of his own accord. If they were right about what had happened on Friday night, then he’d already been forced to do things that he didn’t want to do. Taking his privacy by force was not the way to go. “He’s not gonna do that!” shouted Tori, in the kind of voice that she normally only used with difficult patients, “No-one’s gonna break the door down… You can keep it locked if you want to… But we’d really like it if you opened it… We’re worried about you…” “Yeah, mate… listen” said Justin, throwing her an apologetic look, “I didn’t mean that…” Brody sat and stared at the door. He knew that they were all out there waiting for him. His entire family. The people who loved him. The people he loved… and he needed them more now than ever. But how was he ever going to explain things to them? How would they ever look at him the same way after what had happened?! Justin motioned at the other three to go back to the living-room and to leave him there to try to talk to him on his own. Tori nodded and shepherded Mason and Raffy ahead of her down the hallway. “Mate, it’s just me now” he said, sitting down on the floor outside the bathroom with his back against the wall, “You can talk to me you know… about anything…” “Please, Justin?!” sobbed Brody, “I don’t want to talk to anybody right now… It’s just… I just… I can’t!” “Mate” said Justin, turning to look at the little gap below the door, “You can… You know you can”. He wanted to put his face down there and peer underneath. He wanted to see what he was doing in there, in case he was hurting himself. He wouldn’t do that though. Tori was right. They had to respect his privacy. “No matter what’s happened…” said Justin, “It doesn’t change the way we feel about you…” Brody stared at the door in a sad sort of way. He wanted to open it so much! He wanted to have his big brother put his arms around him and tell him that everything was going to be alright. He wanted that more than anything. He didn’t just want it, he needed it! The problem was that he didn’t believe him. They would see him differently when they found out. Everyone would! And they’d be right to! “Come on, mate?!” pleaded Justin, “Open the door?” He gave a little sigh. He could see Justin’s shadow under the door and the tips of his fingers as they rested on the floor. This would probably be the last time that he got to be part of a family. The last time that he got to have brothers and sisters and people who really cared about him. The last time that he got to just be a normal guy. It wouldn’t be long until they found out what he really was, so maybe he should just try to make the most of it, while he still had the chance? He wiped his face and got to his feet a little shakily, turning the water off, and pulling a towel around his waist. Justin listened to the water stop and turned to look at the door a little hopefully. There certainly seemed to be some movement in there! Maybe he was coming out?! Brody turned and wiped at the steam on the mirror above the sink. ‘How will they ever accept me?’ he said to himself, sighing heavily as he gazed into it, ‘How will I ever explain this to them?!’ “Brodes, come on…” said Justin, getting to his feet when he heard him approach the door, “Please… just open the door?” With a little click, Brody unlocked the door, and pulled it open. “Brody!” gasped Justin, throwing his arms around his brother and pulling him into a tight hug. He felt him tense for a moment, as though he was going to pull away, but then he just collapsed in his arms and started to cry inconsolably. His whole body was shaking. “Hey, it’s okay” he said, rocking him from side to side, and cradling the back of his head in his hand, “It’s okay, mate… It’s all gonna be okay… I’ve got ya…” Brody clenched his teeth as he allowed his brother to hold him against his chest. He could hear Justin’s heartbeat thudding in his chest and feel the warmth of his brother’s embrace. He was going to miss this. This simple human kindness. The bond between family members who care about each other… “Hey, Brodes?” said Justin, rubbing his hand up and down his brother’s back to try to warm him up a bit. He figured that he must have run out of hot water in the shower and been sitting there with cold water crashing down on top of him. “You’re freezing, mate!” he said, gently leading him towards his own bedroom, “C’mon… Let’s get you dressed?”

This is true! You'd be careful about turning your back on him, wouldn't you?! I don't think I'd accept any food and drink from him either, lol! 'What's that Kyle? Drinks at your house... ehhhh '

Aw, thanks Pembie, I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Kylie /Phoebe was a pretty scary villain! I do quite enjoy writing horror, which is quite odd, as you say. Tamara was very forgiving, wasn't she?! And Andy! (Think I might write a slightly different ending if I was writing it now).

Okay, so here's chapter two! Hope you all like it! I won't post all the chapters so close together. Just these two were originally one chapter but it got too long so I split in two... (Again, thanks for all the lovely comments folks! ) WARNING: ADULT THEMES! CHAPTER 2 Friday Evening continued… “No, I want to thank you!” said Kris, shaking Brody’s hand and motioning for him to sit down at the table with him, “It’s not often that I come across a menu as well put together and well judged as this one… That goat’s cheese tartlet was to die for! …I mean… the pastry… Just out of this world!” “Oh, my God!” giggled Brody, feeling a little overcome, “I… I… don’t know what to say!” “You can start by telling me how a chef as talented, and as inventive as you clearly are, has… and I don’t mean this to sound insulting in any way… How you’ve ended up in a little town like this?!” Brody gave a little grimace and took a deep breath. He didn’t know where to begin. How do you explain away years of running from a drug syndicate? Years of hiding? He knew that his true story, about the years that they’d spent in witness protection, would probably make this guy’s eyes light up. A story this juicy was hard to come by! He could just picture the front page of the magazine with his face splashed across it! ‘The Witness Protection Chef!’ It would certainly create a stir and the restaurant would probably be booked out for months! But he didn’t want his success to be based on some sort of gimmick. He wanted to succeed on merit and for people to come here because they wanted to try his food. He wanted to be taken seriously! “Well…” he began, “I see myself as a sort of pioneer… I want to be the one to put Summer Bay on the map…” “Who’s that guy that Brody’s with?” asked Justin, pointing with his beer bottle towards the booth where they were sitting. Phoebe had gone to the bathroom so he’d finally come up for air long enough to notice his brother’s impromptu interview. “Some magazine reviewer” said Declan, busily making a couple of cocktails for a girl at the other end of the bar. He put a metal straw in the cocktail shaker, covered the top with his finger to siphon some up, and then tasted it. “He seemed pretty excited about it.” he said, with a little smile as he added more lime juice “Some magazine… ‘Foodie Heaven’ or something like that.” “Way to go, Brodes!” exclaimed Justin, taking another gulp of beer as he turned on his stool to watch. It seemed to be going well. They were both smiling and laughing. “Hey!” laughed Phoebe, when she returned to her seat and found Justin staring across the room at Brody, “I thought you were ordering me another Cosmo?!” “Oh yeah, sorry” he muttered, as he tried to figure out what was being said. He wasn’t good at multitasking. “What are you doing?” she asked, turning her stool so she could watch Brody too, “Spying on Brodes?!” “Yeah, he’s got some hotshot reviewer guy in” he whispered, in a conspiratorial sort of tone, “It looks like it’s going well… Doesn’t it?” She glanced over her shoulder and motioned for Declan to get them another round of drinks before turning her attention back to Brody and Kris. “Yeah…” she said, raising her eyebrows in interest, “It looks like it’s going very well!” She’d just seen Kris throw his head back with laughter, and Brody had flushed up a little red, and giggled in a sheepish way. The more she watched, the more she thought it looked like they were flirting?! She put her hand on Justin’s thigh to get his attention and tilted her head at him in a mischievous sort of way. “You don’t think?” she asked, smirking a little, “You don’t think it’s more than a business meeting… do you?!” “Huh?” asked Justin, failing to follow her train of thought. “Look at them, Justin!” she said, motioning with her head towards them again, “Look at the way that guy is looking at him…” Kris had his head resting on his hand, and he was gazing at Brody all dreamy eyed. “Look at the way he keeps touching him on the arm when he says something funny” she said demonstrating on Justin’s arm. “Oh God! You’re so funny!” she exclaimed, in an exaggerated way, before throwing her head back and laughing, “I just luuurrrrrve you!” “What?!” exclaimed Justin, suddenly joining the dots, “But Brody’s not… I mean… He’s not…?” Phoebe raised her eyebrows at him and shrugged. “Isn’t he?” she asked, “Are you sure about that?” “I don’t think…” he began to say, looking startled, “I mean… he’s not...” He couldn’t say 100% for certain that he wasn’t. He knew that Brody had never really had a girlfriend that he was serious about, unless you counted the lesbian that had run off with another girl. He didn’t think that she and Brody had even been sleeping together. And things with Jeannie hadn’t lasted more than a few days. So, maybe he was gay?! How had he never figured that out before?! “I mean…” he said again, “You really think…?” “You’re telling me you’re not getting some serious ‘vibes’ off those two?!” she laughed, “Cos that guy looks like he’d do anything to get in your brother’s pants right now!” “Ewwww! Phoebe!” scolded Justin. He didn’t want to think about his brother in that way! Not with a man! “What?!” she laughed, motioning with her head for him to look again, “I’m just saying… I know what I want when I look at a man that way!” “Yeah” he said, furrowing his brow as he watched the other man. He recognised a lot of Phoebe’s ‘moves’. It was pretty clear that this Kris guy was gay and that he was sending out a hell of a lot of signals. You would have had to be an idiot not to notice! Brody seemed to be a lot more reserved though. He was laughing and talking in an animated way but he wasn’t being as touchy feely. He didn’t look like he was flirting. “Just cos the other guy is hot for him” said Justin, “It doesn’t mean Brody’s gay.” “True” said Phoebe, picking up her Cosmo that had just arrived for her and taking a big sip. They continued to watch as Brody and Kris laughed and chatted. “He does seem to be enjoying his company though” said Phoebe. “That still doesn’t mean he’s gay” said Justin. “Shhh!” exclaimed Phoebe, seeing Brody get up from the table and start to make his way back towards them at the bar, “Act natural!” “Oh sorry!” they heard him say as he bumped into a blonde man on his way across the floor, “I didn’t see you there.” He’d been too distracted and lost in his own little world to watch where he was going and he’d spilt the guy’s drink all over him. “Hey Brodes!” said Justin, trying to sound as casual as possible when he joined them at the bar, “Looks like things are going well with that reviewer guy? He seems like a good bloke?” “Yeah, he is!” smiled Brody, as he stepped behind the bar, “He’s great!” He nodded at the blonde man to come over and handed him a couple of free beers as way of apology. The guy still didn’t seem too pleased, wiping at his stained shirt in an exaggerated way, but he took the drinks and went back to his mates. Brody motioned at Declan to get Justin and Phoebe another round of drinks and then grinned excitedly at them. “It’s Kris Novotny from ‘Foodie Paradise’!” he practically squealed, “I can’t believe he came down here!” “Yeah, and it looks like you’re getting on like a house on fire?!” said Phoebe, throwing Justin a knowing sort of glance, “So… he’s here to do a review of Salt?” “Yeah, he is!” nodded Brody, as he reached for one of their most expensive bottles of wine and two glasses. “It’s the most amazing thing!” he gushed, “He’s gonna do a full two-page write-up on Salt! He thinks my menu is the best bistro style food in New South Wales!” “I bet he does!” snorted Phoebe. Justin shook his head at her disapprovingly. He didn’t like her making fun of him under the circumstances. “Aw, thanks Pheebs!” he said, failing to pick up on her mocking tone, “I just need to get the name ‘Salt’ out there, y’know?!” He picked up the wine bottle and the two glasses and motioned with his head towards the booth table where Kris was eagerly waiting. “Better get back over there before he changes his mind!” he said, with a smile stretched from ear to ear, “You two have a good night!” “You too, Brodes!” laughed Phoebe, as she watched him practically skip across the room and take his place again beside Kris in the little booth. To anyone who didn’t know any better, the two boys would have looked like a gay couple on a romantic night out. “Oh, come on?!” she teased, throwing her hands out and giving Justin a ‘told you so!’ sort of look, “You can’t say you don’t see it?!” “Okay! Okay!” he groaned, turning back towards the bar, “Maybe… and I mean ‘maybe’… Maybe you’re right!” He didn’t want to watch anymore. Now that Phoebe had opened his eyes to this startling possibility, watching them felt like intruding on something quite intimate. It felt wrong, like a kind of voyeurism. He thought they deserved some privacy. “I’m always right” laughed Phoebe, as she drained the last of her Cosmo and flashed him a little grin, “Always!” Justin picked at the label of his bottle and quietly mulled things over. He’d never really given much thought to Brody’s sexuality. They’d never really talked about it. With all the years of being on the run, none of them had really had the opportunity to form close relationships, and when they had, they’d often had to drop everything and leave people behind. Brody had never really attached himself to anyone for very long. He hadn’t really thought anything of it. But maybe there was more to this thing? Maybe he was gay? It was certainly a possibility. He was a little sad if he’d felt that he couldn’t tell them. Surely, he knew how much they all loved him, and that there was nothing he could ever do to change that? Being gay wouldn’t make the slightest bit of difference to how they felt about him. None at all! All that mattered to any of them was that he was happy. Surely, he knew that?! “C’mon?” he said, sliding off his stool and taking Phoebe’s hand to make her follow him, “Let’s go… I don’t want to cramp his style…” Saturday Morning… “I want to go home” huffed Brody, sitting huddled in the bed in his hospital gown, “You can’t keep me here!” He had his arms hugged around his knees, making himself into the smallest ball possible. “No tests! I don’t know how many times I have to say it!” “No-one’s keeping you here” reasoned Nate, “but I have a duty of care… and you were unconscious when the paramedics found you… You were… you were naked, Brody.” “So?!” he asked, “What has that got to do with anything?!” “I would have thought quite a lot” said Nate, with a worried little frown, “I would like to run some basic tests… some blood tests…” “I’m okay” huffed Brody, “I don’t need blood tests… I’ve told you, I just drank too much… Will you stop overreacting?!” “I don’t think anyone is overreacting!” said Nate, frowning a little as he looked around the room. Brody had clearly been out of bed and closed the blinds since he’d been gone. The room was decidedly dark and gloomy now. He wondered if he had a headache or some other light sensitivity. The sooner he got some blood tests and a head CT the better, he thought to himself. God knows what drugs he’d been given! “People are just worried about you…” he continued, “I think it’s fair to say that your behaviour is a little out of character.” “How would you know that?!” snapped Brody, “You hardly know me!” “I think I know you well enough to know that you wouldn’t go running around on the beach naked…” said Nate, “…and that you hadn’t been drinking enough for you to lose consciousness.” They hadn’t been able to run the normal tox screens, because he’d come round in the ambulance, and been refusing treatment ever since! They couldn’t take blood without his consent unless they got a psych evaluation to say that he was incompetent. They’d paged Psychology for a consultation but no-one had appeared as yet. “I just want to make sure you haven’t had a head injury” he said, looking at him with concern, “…or anything else that we should be worried about.” He didn’t want to jump to conclusions but the signs were all pointing in one direction. Even his hostility was a sign in itself! He felt very sorry for him. Brody pursed his lips and looked out the window. “I just want to go home” he said, sounding like a petulant child, “I’m just tired.” “I understand that…” said Nate, sitting down on the side of his bed with a sympathetic little head tilt, “But you were out cold when those people found you… and we just want to find out what happened… and make sure that you’re okay” He was using his ‘now, now, be a good little patient’ voice and giving him his warmest smile. “Come on, Brody?” he coaxed, “It won’t take long… just a couple of blood tests… and if you’re okay with it, I’d like to take a look at those wounds on your neck.” There were two small circular marks on the side of his neck. From a distance, they looked like the burns from a Taser gun. Brody’s hand shot up to his throat, more out of reflex than anything else, and his eyes widened a little. It was like he’d suddenly remembered something. “I’m okay!” he said, getting up off the bed on the side opposite Nate. “I just want to go home…” he said, wobbling a little and having to catch the side of the bed to steady himself. He was obviously a little dizzy. “Brody, please?” pleaded, Nate, “You’re in no fit state to go home!” He could see that he had his eyes closed and seemed to be swaying a little. He came around to Brody’s side of the bed and tried to take hold of his arm. “Get off me!” shouted Brody, flinching away from him quite violently and backing up against the wall, “Don’t touch me!” He looked frightened. “Okay!” said Nate, holding his hands up in an attempt to calm him, “No touching… Just… Can you please get back into bed?” “No!” he snapped, giving him a big shove in the middle of the chest and pushing past him, “I’m discharging myself!” “That’s really not a good idea!” said Nate, catching up to him and holding the door closed, “Please, Brody? Be reasonable! You’re not a well man!” “I don’t care!” growled Brody, shoving him again so hard that he landed on the floor, “I’m leaving… You can’t keep me prisoner!” Nate stared up at him in shock, as he watched him pull the door open, and barge out into the hallway. He hadn’t expected him to react so violently or for him to be so strong. Justin and Tori stood up, looking surprised as they saw their brother run past them in the waiting area. In a flash of white, with his hospital gown gaping open at the back, he was gone! “What the…?!” said Justin, as he saw Nate come running past them too. “Brody?!” he shouted, running down the hallway after them, only to find Nate, standing there looking confused. Brody was nowhere to be seen. Just two long corridors with lots of open doorways! He could have gone anywhere! “He’s gone” said Nate, looking left and then right, “I don’t know which way he went!” “Okay” said Justin, as Tori caught up with them, “I’ll go this way, you go that way… and Tori, you check the stairwells!” With that, they ran off in different directions. Brody stood inside one of the patient’s rooms with his back against the wall. He was out of breath, and feeling faint, but he couldn’t let Nate catch him! He had to get out of here before they found out what really happened! He couldn’t let anyone know the truth! He froze stock still, holding his breath, as Nate stopped in the doorway. ‘Please?! Just move on!’ he pleaded with him silently, ‘Just keep on going! I’m not in here!’ Nate looked inside the darkened room, but all he could see was the body of an elderly man, with that soft ‘suck whoosh’ sound of a ventilator going on and on. After a moment, he moved on down the hallway. ‘Thank God!’ thought Brody, as he listened to his footsteps growing ever more distant. Now was his chance! He went to the locker beside the man’s bed and opened it. There was a gym bag inside and he sighed with relief when he unzipped it to find a selection of folded up clothes. It was the clothing of an eighty-year-old man, all brown corduroy pants and flannel shirts, but he pulled them out of the bag, and threw them on as quickly as he could. He looked like an extra from a movie about the Great Depression. They were far too big for him! He stuck his head out into the hallway to check for Nate, or the others. The way was clear. It was now or never! Within a few minutes, he was out, and running for all he was worth. The streets passed in a blur as he ran and ran... His feet burned because he wasn’t wearing any shoes, and the ground was hot from the midday sun, but he just kept going. People were stopping to stare because he must have looked so wild-eyed and desperate. He had no idea where he was going, or what he was going to do when he got there, but his every instinct told him that he had to run! One thought, and one thought only, ran through his head. He had to get away!

Am I being really dim? Cos I can't figure it out. Has he been having conjugal visits with Phoebe? , or do prisons have sperm donation programs that I'm unaware of? I don't think there are any mixed prisons, no matter how low security they are... or how open are these prisons? It sounded like he had to be handcuffed when he was outside the walls? It's the eight years that has thrown me because he still would have been in the max facility when the baby was conceived? Bit of a noodle scratcher to be honest.

Unless it's like the Joker i.e. with a knife? Oh god, that made me laugh! Thanks both of you!

Hahahahahahaha! ???????? (sorry, very childish! )

I've sometimes wondered about Brody. I'm very very behind with the show at the moment so I haven't seen any of his more recent 'relationships' but he's always struck me as someone who doesn't really show much attraction to anyone. His very brief fling with Jeannie seemed to come out of nowhere and was very exaggerated, almost as though he was overcompensating for something... (which I suppose he was, largely because the writers bottled it, and decided last minute that their first gay character was now going to be straight. It was a somewhat frantic U-turn for him, and very poorly written at that). I seem to remember Mason taunting him about his 'dry spell' and then him throwing himself like a maniac at the first pretty girl he saw. It came across as a very empty 'attraction'. I liked the idea of Brody being asexual. I think it kind of fits with his (as Red says) solitary character. Glad you like it. Ah Pembie, you always make me laugh. Brody might not have had much interest in that waitress' boobs but it looks like you certainly did! Thanks! It is supposed to be a mystery so hopefully I'll keep you guessing for a while yet! Thanks for reading everyone! x

Hahaha! Something vaguely normal?! I think that would be a serious shock! Can't imagine a Pembie story all sincere and heartfelt! Lol! Go on though, I dare you! As for my part in this, I enjoyed being a bit sillier than I normally am. Just wish I could steer things away from the darkside a little more. Maybe with your help, I'll get there?!

Title: Spiked Type of Fic: Long Fiction Main Characters: Brody, Tori, Justin, Mason, Raffy, Phoebe, and other main characters. Genre: Mystery BTTB Rating: A Does it contain spoilers: No Warnings: ADULT THEMES & SEXUAL CONTENT Summary: Brody is dazed and confused in hospital after a very strange evening in the restaurant. His immediate reaction worries his family, and his behaviour afterwards is even stranger. What happened to him that night and how will they deal with the aftermath? N.B. This is a bit of a different take on Brody... Also, in this reality, the drug storyline has never happened, so we’re basically picking up a few months ago, shortly after he broke up with Jeannie. . Thanks to Bijou who requested a Brody-centric story. Hope you like it! CHAPTER 1 Saturday Morning… “Where is he?!” asked Justin, rushing from the doors of the elevator towards his sister, “Can I see him?!” “Oh God, Justin!” cried Tori, as soon as she spotted him. Her face was unmistakably blotched and tear streaked from all the crying, and she just threw herself into his arms as soon as he got close enough. “It’s just awful!” she sobbed, as she buried her face in his chest, “I think… I think he’s been… Oh God! I can’t even say it!” He hugged his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head. “Hey, hey…” he said, rocking her gently from side to side, “He’ll be okay” He hoped for the love of god that that was true! He gave a little sigh as he caught sight of Nate standing there just behind her. He could see the concern etched across his face and he knew right then that it had to be serious. This wasn’t just his sister overreacting. Something terrible had happened! “Can I see him?” he asked, pulling back from the hug and looking down at his sister. “I don’t know” she said, staring towards one of the treatment rooms, “He won’t allow me in there… He doesn’t want me to see him.” “He might let me in?” said Justin, giving her an apologetic head tilt. Over the years, he and Tori had become like mother and father to the younger two, and Brody had always gravitated towards him when it came to his worries and woes, whereas Mason was much more of a ‘mummy’s boy’. Brody was more likely to talk to him, than to Tori, and they both knew it. “I can ask him” said Nate, stepping forwards with a chart under his arm, “But I have to warn you, he’s asked that you all stay outside… He’s been very clear about that… No family.” “What?!” asked Justin, looking more than a little shocked, “Why?!” “That’s what he said” sobbed Tori, “He ordered me out as soon as I went in there…” She shook her head at him with tear-filled eyes. “He was so angry, Justin! And scared! …I’ve never seen him look like this!” she said, “He wouldn’t even tell me what happened!” “Didn’t the paramedics tell you?!” he asked, “When they brought him in?” “No, they didn’t” she said, lowering her voice a little, as though to protect her brother’s dignity, “He was naked when they found him, Justin… Naked on the beach and unconscious… What does that tell you?!” His heart kicked up a gear as he began to put two and two together. This was bad! “Do you know what’s happened?!” he asked, turning to look at Nate, “Has he told you?!” “You know I can’t tell you that” said Nate, shaking his head with an apologetic sort of grimace, “He’s asked for full confidentiality… I’m sorry, but I have to respect his wishes.” Tori nodded and went to sit down on one of the chairs in the hallway. “I just don’t understand this” she said, running her fingers through her hair, “We’re his family… Why wouldn’t he want us in there?!” “I want to see him” said Justin, starting to move towards the door. “I can ask him” said Nate, catching him by the arm to stop him, “But you’ll need to wait here…” “He’s my brother” huffed Justin, trying to pull his arm away, “I don’t care what he says…” “Justin!” pleaded Nate, “Don’t make me call security… He’s made it very clear that he doesn’t want you in there… You have to accept that.” “But it isn’t right, Doc!” he said, starting to look a little weepy, “He’s our brother and… and we love him...” “Justin!” said Tori, wiping at her eyes and trying to pull herself together, “Nate’s just doing his job!” She forced a smile and nodded at Nate to go and look in on Brody. “He’s in good hands” she said. “Can you at least tell him we’re out here?” said Justin, with a frustrated sort of sigh, “That we’re here… and we’re not leaving?” “I’ll go and see if he’s changed his mind” nodded Nate, “He might have second thoughts if he knows you’re out here.” He gave him a pat on the arm and a sympathetic little half-smile. “I’ll let him know that you’re worried.” “Thanks, mate” said Justin, watching helplessly as Nate headed towards Brody’s room. He put his hands on top of his head and spun around to look at Tori. She gave him a ‘what the hell is going on?!’ kind of look and then put her face in her hands. Justin just shook his head and looked at the ceiling. None of this made any sense! What could have happened last night that would have made him behave like this?! After all that they’d been through in witness protection, he felt like they could get through anything. They were strong, as long as they all stuck together! Surely, this was when Brody needed his family the most?! Friday Evening (the night before) … “You know, you could help!” said Brody, glancing disapprovingly at Justin as he sat on the other side of the bar with a beer in his hand, “This place is part yours… You could come round this side of the bar and give us a hand?!” He was frantically wiping down the bar surfaces and tidying empty bottles away. The barman had nipped outside for a smoke break, but a couple of the staff had called in sick as well, and there was no-one else to cover. One of the waitresses was doing her best to take drinks orders, even though she knew next to nothing about cocktail making, and was having to consult the menu card they kept behind the bar. “I could” said Justin, as he took a slug from his bottle of beer and glanced towards the door, “But I’ve just come from work… You know that place with all the cars, and the grease, and the tools and stuff?!” “Justin!” he complained, “You know we’re slammed tonight!” “You were the one who decided to buy this place…” replied Justin, giving a little shrug, “This restaurant is your thing… You make the decisions… You decide… You’re always saying that… I wouldn’t expect you to come down and fix cars for me… So… forgive me if I think I deserve a sit down after a hard day’s work… and a few drinks with my girlfriend…” “I’m just asking for a few hours!” said Brody, looking at him pleadingly, “Mason’s got a shift at the hospital, or I’d ask him!” He could see one of the waitresses seating a big group booking. There were at least twenty of them! Things were about to get so much busier! “Pleeeease, Justin?!” “I thought you hired new staff?” asked Justin, in a distracted sort of way. He’d just seen Phoebe walk through the door in that hot pink dress of hers and he was too busy smiling at her. He loved the way that it hugged her in all the right places. Even better, was the fact that he knew what that dress meant! “I did” said Brody, following his gaze towards Phoebe and rolling his eyes, “I hired two new waitresses… but some of my guys called in sick…” He knew, as soon as he spotted Phoebe’s dress, that he had next to no chance of getting any help now, so he just stopped talking. She was wearing her ‘Let’s get it on!’ dress, and that only ever meant one thing! She and Justin would be keeping everyone awake tonight! He got a little sick in his mouth at the thought of it. “Hey babe” said Justin, hugging his arms around Phoebe’s waist as soon as she was within reach, and devouring her with his eyes. “How was your day?” he asked, as his lips curled up at the corners and he leaned in for a kiss, “Ready for a drink?” “Mmmm-hmmm” she moaned, as she pressed her body up against his, and returned his kiss enthusiastically. “Never mind” sighed Brody. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head in disgust as they kissed a little too passionately for a public bar. With a sigh of relief, he saw his barman walk back in. It meant that he could get back to the kitchen and make sure that things weren’t falling apart in there. “Well… I… uh… I guess…” he said, grimacing as they kissed with a little too much visible tongue, “I’ll leave you two… to… whatever you’re doing…” “Hey Brodes!” mumbled Phoebe, laughing a little, mid-kiss, with her arms flung around Justin’s neck. She hadn’t even looked at him. “Yeah, hey Pheebs” he muttered, waving at her over his shoulder as he headed towards the kitchen, “I’ll catch you later…” He walked back into the kitchen and gave a loud huff when he saw what a shambles it had become. The place was cluttered with dirty dishes and pans, and his chefs looked thoroughly flustered. “I’m back!” he shouted, taking over from his sous chef and nodding for him to get back to his station, “Let’s get this place back on track!” As he began to clean down the work area, and start to reorganise things, he realised that his stomach felt like it was tied in knots. He was breathing very heavily too. He was angry! He was angry and resentful, but he didn’t really understand why… or rather, he did, but he realised that he was being unreasonable! It was busy tonight and he really could have used their help. That was true. Would it really have killed them to drop things for a couple of hours and roll up their sleeves?! Surely, they could have done that?! He would have done that for them… he was pretty sure… But then again, was it really fair of him to ask that? They’d already done their day’s work. They didn’t owe him anything! He knew in his heart that it wasn’t really about that though. If he was honest with himself, it was that he envied them their happiness. He hated seeing them together when they were like this! And he really hated having to hear them through the bedroom walls. It turned his stomach. He wondered whether he should just sleep at the restaurant tonight. It might be easier. He couldn’t really explain why it annoyed him so much. It just did! He hid it most of the time but sometimes he found it difficult, and tonight was one of those nights! It wasn’t that he wanted Phoebe, despite what Tori and Mason sometimes insinuated. Far from it! She was a nice girl, and he liked her a lot, but he didn’t want her that way. Not Phoebe, not any girl! Not anyone! What he wanted was to have that feeling. That’s what he was jealous of! He wanted to feel that way about someone… anyone! To experience what that was like! To want to rip someone’s clothes off! To want to be with them so much that nothing else mattered! To want to be naked with them! He’d never had that. Sad as that was, he’d never felt that way about anyone… not ever! He’d tried to fake it over the years, to put on a show for everyone else’s benefit, to be ‘normal’… but he just wasn’t. He’d even tried to fake it for himself in the hope that it might ignite something inside him and maybe he’d somehow become ‘normal’ like everyone else, but he’d just been going through the motions. It wasn’t like he’d never had sex, he’d just never enjoyed it. He hadn’t been able to make himself feel the things that he was ‘supposed’ to feel. He just wasn’t made that way. All he’d ever felt was shame and revulsion! He didn’t like the nakedness. Sometimes he’d try to shut that part of himself off completely and pretend that it didn’t exist. He would have been happier if it didn’t, like a Ken doll with nothing between its legs. Life might have been easier… But, in truth, he was tired of being alone… He didn’t want to be on his own anymore… He wanted someone to curl up on the couch with, and someone to do things with. Someone to belong to… He wanted companionship… and all the things that being in a relationship was supposed to bring… apart from the sex. Was that so much to ask?! Why did everything have to come down to that?! To some animalistic urge to ‘mount’ each other?! To get naked and hump each other silly?! Wasn’t there more to love and life than that?! Something on a higher level? Something more ‘cerebral’? Or was it really just about ‘bumping nasties’? Was that all that the ‘normal’ world really cared about?! It seemed that way. He sighed to himself, as he picked up a paintbrush, and swiped a trail of beetroot reduction onto the plate beside the goat’s cheese tartlets. Perfection! It looked beautiful! This was what he’d been hiding behind for years now. His ‘career’ had been the perfect cover, as well as ‘witness protection’. ‘I can’t have a girlfriend when life is so complicated!’, ‘How can I have a relationship when we might have to go on the run?!’, ‘I don’t have time! I need to concentrate on my training!’ …What was going to be his excuse now?! He’d tried explaining things to Justin once, but all he’d done was ridicule, and tell him that he ‘mustn’t be doing it right’. And the one time he’d tried to have an honest heart to heart with Tori, she’d jumped to the conclusion that he must be gay. That was why he’d run after Jeannie in the way that he had. He’d needed to get Tori and Mason off his back for a little while and it seemed to have worked. He just wasn’t ready to lay his cards on the table and ‘out himself’, so to speak. He wasn’t brave enough for that. Not yet. He felt physically sick with nerves as he slipped the plates up onto the pass and called ‘service’. He smiled a little sadly to himself and shook his head. To anyone looking at him now, he would have appeared the picture of calm. He was anything but! He was like a swan, all serene and dignified above the surface, but paddling furiously underneath! Why couldn’t he just be ‘normal’?! Why did he have to be such a weirdo?! Why was he such a freak?! Those questions whirled around in his head as he plated up the next order. He was always insulting himself and calling himself names in his head. “Service!” he shouted, and smiled at the young waitress when she came to take the plates. He glanced at her breasts, so visibly pert in that tight work top of hers, and wondered at how other men might find them tantalising. They’d probably be imagining her naked, or fantasising about what they’d like to do to her. They’d be thinking about the parts of their body that they’d like to insert into hers. Two sweaty bodies, slipping and sliding against each other, with all the smells and the sound effects that that entailed. He shuddered at the thought of it. All he saw was a pretty young girl with a nice set of boobs. ‘Nice’. Not a word that a red-blooded heterosexual would use to describe them. But he wasn’t homosexual either. Neither body did it for him. He was nothing… and that was even worse! ‘I hate myself’ he thought to himself, as she walked away, ‘Why can’t I just be ‘normal’?!’ “Brody!” shouted the barman, sticking his head in through the door of the kitchen. “What now?!” he snapped back at him. “There’s a guy out here wants to speak to you…” he answered. “I’m busy” snapped Brody, only looking up at him for a moment, “Can’t you deal with him?!” “He wants to speak to you” he replied. “Declan!” he complained, “Seriously… I’m only getting things back on track…” “He’s some… some food reviewer from the city…” said Declan, “He said he wants to write an article about Salt…” “Oh!” exclaimed Brody, setting the plates up on the pass and wiping his hands on his apron, “Um, okay… Tell him… Tell him I’ll be out to him in a minute.” He turned to look at his sous chef and gave a nervous little grimace. They’d been trying to get a number of food critics from various magazines and publications to come and review the new menu for weeks. This wasn’t the best night for it! Not when they were so understaffed! “Here goes!” he said, nodding for the sous chef to come and take over from him again, “Wish me luck! …I’ll try not to be too long.” With that, he wiped the sweat from his brow, and gave himself a quick check in the mirror that they had at their wash station. ‘Okay, you’ve got this!’ he said to himself before walking out to the dining room as calmly as he could. He didn’t want this guy to know how flustered he was. “That’s him” said Declan, pointing at a man on the far side of the room. Brody looked across to the booth table that Declan was pointing at and gave a little gasp when he realised who it was! He recognised him from the little headshot at the top of his printed reviews. He was Kris Novotny! “Oh, my God!” he exclaimed, smiling in a forced sort of way and talking to Declan like a ventriloquist, “That’s the reviewer for Foodie Paradise! I’ve been trying to get him to come down here for months!” Suddenly the man looked up from his dessert and spotted Brody behind the bar. He raised his hand to say ‘hello’ and beckoned for him to come over with a friendly sort of smile. Brody gave Declan a little nod and headed straight over to Kris’ table. “Brody Morgan” he announced, sticking his hand out to him with a proud little smile, “I love your magazine…I just want to say thanks…”

Ehhh... okay? I'm very confused by that last line but I guess it'll be explained in a later chapter. Really interested to see where the story goes and how (or if) Josh manages to settle back into a normal life. Billie and VJ having a big brood of kids and being farmers is interesting, but I think it could fit them quite well. Looking forward to the next chapter so!

Awww! VJ got Billie back! So, you were right! She was only sleeping! Yay!!! Things are most definitely as they should be at the end there... No nasty Kat and Ash getting their grubby mitts on VJ's little girl. Him having to hand her over just broke my heart! And you've cleared a few other things up for me too! Kat's actually making an active effort to be the worst most useless cop on the face of the planet? Well, that makes a lot more sense! Really enjoyed this!

Oh my goodness! Poor Kyle's had a tough time of it! At least he's awake now though! Question is, will all those cardiac arrests have caused any brain damage?!

Come on Phoebe!!! You have to tell them about his kidneys, damn it! Sounds like they don't have all his medical history which really isn't good! Glad he made it through the surgery though, and it was nice that Heath dropped everything and rushed to be at his side. Shouldn't someone mention the fact that he had a murderous uncle trying to kill him?