Just found this chapter which has been sitting in a folder on my flash drive for almost a year now... fancy that. Enjoy and I think I'm back on track for the next chapter! :)

"I can't believe they aren't speaking," Nathan muttered as he slammed two plates onto the kitchen bench. "We leave them for five minutes and they get into a fight."

"I know," Blake replied.

"Now this is why I don't like women. They're too complicated."

Blake rolled his eyes and sat up on the kitchen bench. "They'll make up by tomorrow. Just you watch."

"This is the last time I cook for people," Nathan grumbled. "I mean, look how much I made! There's no way we can eat this between the two of us."

"Relax, I'll take some to work with me tomorrow." Blake replied.

"You'd be taking some whether you liked it or not," Nathan replied sharply. "But that's not the point!"

"Just calm down," Blake kissed Nathan's shoulder before grabbing a plate of pasta and hopping off the bench. "Just means we get to spend time alone."

"We always spend time alone, Blake," Nathan whined. "I want to spend time with my best friends as well!"

Blake sighed and grabbed a fork before walking over to their kitchen table. Nathan followed behind him, still fuming.

As they ate, Blake eyed his boyfriend. Nathan was still mad at the girls and he didn't blame him. He sighed when he saw Nathan open his mouth to speak again. "How are you not annoyed?"

"Nathan, they pissed off my boyfriend and I'm copping the blow so of course I'm annoyed."

Nathan suddenly smiled. "We are so mismatched."

"Haven't heard any complaints before," Blake shrugged and ran a hand through his red hair.

"You're beautiful."

"You're a suck up." Blake countered with a smile.

"But I'm a flattering suck up," Nathan grinned before tugging on a lock of his brown hair. "I should get a haircut."

"I actually like it," Blake replied.

"You like everything about me, Blakie."

"Besides the fact that you take your anger out at me? Of course."

"It's not like you don't do the same," Nathan replied.
"I do not!" Blake scoffed.

"You do too," Nathan replied with a laugh. "You get off on yelling at me."

"I do not!"

Nathan chuckled and continued to eat. "I'm guessing I'm on the couch tonight?"

"You guessed right." Blake grumbled.

"Yeah, Yeah well I'll remember that later tonight when you finally decide to forgive me and want me to climb back into bed with you."

"It's not going to happen, Nate."

It did. A few hours later, Blake walked into the lounge room where Nathan sat watching late night television and mumbled an excuse to get him back into bed because he missed him. As usual, Nathan felt smug. He knew that would happen.

Flynn sat in his old apartment. It was the same as it was when he left, except that it was clean. He gathered that someone had come in to clean it while he was gone. He was guessing that it was Vanessa, and he really wouldn't be surprised if Lisa helped. He was glad that he was back, he had missed everyone. No. That was a lie. He never had time to miss everyone.

No one had time to do anything if Afghanistan. Not with the war raging on. He was almost glad that he was injured in that explosion. It sent him home; got him away from that hellhole. But the nightmares remained. The fear he felt on the battlefield remained…the memories… Every day the memories of the war haunted him.

He couldn't sleep without being reminded of the war. He couldn't be left alone otherwise he would think of the war. And although he would never admit it, he wanted to go home to his dad's place. He wanted his father and Vanessa to look after him; to tell him that everything would be alright, that he was safe. Just like they did when he was younger. But they couldn't.

He was twenty eight years old. He didn't go running to his family just because he was scared. With a sigh, Flynn got to his feet and exited his room. He was hungry. He walked into the kitchen and wandered over to the refrigerator. He opened it and grunted when he saw it bare. "Well there goes that idea." He muttered before slamming it shut with his good hand. He would have to call Vanessa and see if she could do some shopping for him. There were limited things he could do with his injuries.

Flynn let out a sigh and walked into the lounge room and collapsed into his couch. Everything wore him out.

He must have dozed off because the memories engulfed his mind. The blood. The fear. The sweat, tears and screams. The death of women and children haunted his mind. The people he killed, even if they were the enemy. It sickened him that his hands had shed blood. He wanted to…no. He didn't know what he wanted. And then he saw her. Her lifeless eyes staring up at him, an expression of pain upon her unchanging face. He remembered the wound at her side, the never ending flow of blood. She was only twelve. They were supposed to look after her and they failed. He failed and now she was dead.

Flynn awoke and let out a sound of horror, letting his hands thrash at the attacker.

"Flynn!"

Flynn was crouched on the couch panting. His eyes were wide with fear and terror as he stared at Vanessa who stared back at him with a mixture of shock and confusion. Soon the illusion ended and he gaped at her. He felt ashamed at what had happened. Had he hit her? He couldn't remember. "Crap Vanessa, are you alright?" He felt his mouth tremble. "I-I'm sorry. I d-didn't know it was you. I-I thought that…thought that I…I-I…" Flynn stopped and ran a shaking hand through his now short black hair before letting a sob escape his lips. He then found himself wrapped in someone's arms. "It's alright Flynn. I shouldn't have woken you but you were having a night terror. I couldn't just leave you as you were."

Flynn bit his bottom lip until he drew blood. He refused to cry. He didn't shed tears. He only allowed Vanessa to hold him and comfort him like she did when he was a child. He suddenly felt like he was six again. Small and helpless and always willing to go on and adventure. It was like he was about to cause trouble again and he had to think of a 'brilliant' plan to dig to china or paint Seichi a 'pretty' colour.

"It's alright, dear," Vanessa murmured and gently rocked him in her lap. "It's alright now, I'm here. You aren't there anymore, Flynn. No one can hurt you."

"I-It's just hard to a-adjust, y-y'know?" His voice shook. "I-I just…I don't know what to do anymore, Vanessa. I-I just…just want to…I-I don't know…"

"I know, Flynn, I know. It's no surprise that you're having trouble adjusting. You were there for a very long time."

"Pl-Please don't tell dad, Vanessa. I don't want him to know about this outburst. A-And I don't want him to know that I hit you. H-He'll kill be, although I'd deserve it."

"Flynn, you didn't hit me," Vanessa reassured. "You only just missed me and got the arm of the recliner so relax."

Flynn squeezed his eyes shut and gave a stiff nod and tried to calm him breathing and push back the sobs that threatened to rock his body as Vanessa rubbed his back.

He wished he was six again. Everything was much easier then.

After a while, Flynn managed to calm himself down and sit up. He mumbled an apology to Vanessa and scrubbed any tracks that his tears might have left on his face, with the palms of his hands. "So…um what were you doing here exactly, Vanessa?" He croaked. His voice was still rough from crying.

"I came over with some groceries for you. I knew that you didn't have any and that you wouldn't be able to do the shopping without help."

"Thank you Vanessa but you didn't have to. You do too much for me." Flynn murmured with a small smile.

"Yes well, whether you like it or not, I am your step-mother and I have thought of you as my son for years now. Someone has to look after you after all."

That was true. His own mother wouldn't look after him, it just wasn't her thing. She was more of an acquaintance than a mother, but she still had her moments. After what happened when he was six, it was quite obvious that she cared for her son. Only hours before, he had to live through an hour of her excessive questions over his health and an hour and a half catching up and talking about her new man candy, Peter. Apparently he was only twenty nine.

"Yes, because I'm male and therefore unable to look after myself." Flynn replied dryly.

"But of course. I sometimes wonder what you and your father did without me for so long." She mused as she got to her feet. Her cheerful demeanour soon changed to something more serious as she surveyed Flynn. "I think you should see someone about these terrors you have."

"I don't need to see anyone Vanessa. Besides, I was given some sort of counselling while I was recovering. They gave up because I refused to comply."

"That is just like you, Flynn. Your father would be the same, which is pretty hypocritical of him since he used to be a psychologist." Vanessa replied, her smiling returning.

"Trust me when I say that I am fine, Vanessa." Flynn replied. He then hesitated slightly before continuing. "I…I was thinking of visiting you and dad. Y'know…maybe I could stay a day or two and we could all catch up…"

Vanessa smiled in understanding and pulled him into a hug. "You are always welcome home, Flynn. Don't be ashamed of wanting to come home, we won't judge you. And I know that your father certainly misses you, as do your brother and sister."

Flynn snorted at that but couldn't stop the smile that spread across his lips. "Sure they do. Well depending on how I'm feeling, I might drop by."

"You know perfectly well that you can't drive at the moment. I will drive you so follow me." Vanessa's tone left no room for argument so Flynn swallowed any argument he had and followed her.

Emilia sat on her bed, her arms wrapped around her legs with her eyes squeezed shut. She regretted the fight she had with Brittney. She wanted to tell her everything-heck, she had practically guessed what was going on, and in away, she knew that Blake had done the same. They wanted answers but she wasn't prepared to give them. It was her business, no one else's. With a sigh, Emilia got to her feet and walked into the kitchen to prepare some lunch for herself. She didn't go to work because she was away 'sick'. She resisted a snort at the thought. She wasn't sick. Andy just didn't want anyone to see the bruises on her face. It would raise too many questions that would remain unanswered. That was bound to attract unwanted attention.

Emilia shook her hair and tightened the pony tail before digging through the freezer for something to throw into the oven. It was quite cold out and she felt like something to warm her up. Emilia soon forced herself to stop her search for food when she heard a knock on the door. She walked over and opened it. She smiled slightly and stepped aside to let Blake in. He pulled his cousin into a hug before holding out a plastic bag. "I got Chinese if you're interested."

"You're a lifesaver Blake. I was beginning to lose hope with finding something to eat. There was nothing I wanted." She grinned and pulled him over to the couch and sat down. Blake sat beside her and they began opening containers and placing their selected food on the plates Emilia had retrieved. "What happened last night, Em? Brittney didn't bother answering questions and left not long after you did. Nathan was beyond pissed and I got to cop his anger." Blake asked as he began to eat.

"I'm sorry Blake but Brittney and I just had a small argument. I was going to give her a call later."

"Were you?" He murmured as he stabbed a piece of lemon chicken with his fork. "Well whatever it is, you better fix it."

"Why are you so set on me fixing things with Brittney? We'll forgive each other before the end of the week. We always do."

"Fix it sooner."

"Why?" She asked in annoyance.

"Because of you and Brittney, I didn't get laid last night and until you and Brittney make up, I won't be getting any. Understand?"

"Um…ew." Emilia gagged.

"Don't be like it, I know you secretly enjoy hearing about my nightly endevours with my beautiful boyfriends. Admit it!" He shouted, pointing at her with his fork.

"Lower the fork, douchebag," Emilia snorted and turned back to her dinner. "And I really don't want to think about my cousin doing it with my bestfriend. I mean, how would you like it if I were to tell you about my sex life?"

"I would gladly hear about it if you didn't do it with that douchebag. I swear Em, you need to leave him." Blake said.

"I-I'm not leaving my boyfriend, I love him!" Emilia snapped and stabbed at her chicken. "And he isn't a douchebag, nor is he abusive."

"I didn't say anything about him being abusive, Em."

Emilia froze for a moment before shaking her head. "I can't leave him. He's all I have."

"You have me, Britt-not to mention our family."

"I just…. Don't want to be alone. I mean, Brittney is married, you're in a serious relationship with Nathan and I know that you two would be married by now if you could. I just… if I leave Andy, I'll be all alone. I don't want to be alone anymore, Blake!" She cried and dropped her fork. Squeezing her eyes shut she ran a shaking hand through her hair and gave a humourless laugh. "I am so pathetic."

"You aren't. Plenty of people feel that way. Grand pa Lucas is exactly the same." Blake replied.

"Is that really supposed to make me feel better?" She faltered.

"Okay, so he probably isn't the best example since he's…."

"An idiot?"

"Well yeah…aha." He laughed nervously.

"Well at least he's a married idiot." She grumbled.

"Well…. Flynn's back. Can't you two get it on again?"

"It's been five years, Blake! Things change and so do people. I can't get back together with Flynn; we weren't even together in the first place!" She cried.

"You could've been if he wasn't a major prick but now you can because he's grown up a lot, or so Mum say's." He said as an afterthought.

"If only things were that simple…" She mumbled. "Just drop it, okay?"

"Fine. But just so you know, we're having a family dinner tomorrow night at Grandpa Jason's. Be ready."

"What?" She whipped around to stare at him in disbelief.

"You heard me. Everyone will be there, partner's included so bring Arsehole along too." Blake said and turned back to his, now luke-warm food.

Emilia glanced at the wall, nervously chewing on her thumbnail. She had no idea how she'd survive the dinner, let alone face Flynn again.