Behind Closed Doors

[Lilone]

*sulks again*

ALI :angry:

He didnt even say goodbye to Clare

[allibaz91]

Stop sulking!!

If you don't come out of this huff, I'll stop updating

Oh, just to let everyone know, the next chapter of BCD is going to be the last I'm really grateful for all the wonderful reviews and all, but I think I need to take a break from writing such a long demanding fic.

[swfc]

Lol, I don't know what you're sulking about, Lil. That was a brilliant chapter. It totally made up for the chapter before, if you ask me.

Don't listen to her, Alli. I loved it.

Altho, as long as you don't kill Peter off and as long as Clete gets to stay together, I'm happy. Knowing you, you wouldn't be that cruel to me.

I loved Peter's reaction when he found out about Drew from Sam. Natural reaction to nearly want to murder Sam. The whole scene played in my head.

Loved Peter/Natalie talk. It was cute.

“Drew will always be my son, no matter what my name is,” he insisted. “And none of this is his mess. I have to do this for him. Tell Clare I love her, would you?”

That line really got me in awwww mode.

Update soon. Can't wait to read the last chapter.

[Jess]

Awwww! It's all coming together! I never in a million years would've guessed that that was what Natalie was up to!

Update soon - can't wait to read the last chapter! Even though it will make me muchly sad.

xxx

[Mrs Bishop]

Ali what a briliant chapter and what a turn around.

sorry your going to make the next one the last I,ve reall enjoyed reading this.

[allibaz91]

Thanks loads Chrissie, Jess and Janice

Last chapter will be up sometime in the next few days, though I can't promise when.

Chrissie, thank you!! Told her she needs to stop sulking

Last chapter will be nice and long, and hopefully tie up all the loose ends - and maybe even give Lil another surprise or two along the way

[*~Abi~*]

blimmin hell so much has happened Clare wants an abortion mad women, and Drew'sin danger cant blame Pete for wanting to go back to protect his sone

wicked adds hun

[allibaz91]

Thanks Abi!! You need to stop missing bits out - I put too much in each chapter.

Anyway, here's the last chapter of Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 35

Peter drove for what seemed like eternity, all through the night, until he found himself passing the all-too-familiar ‘Welcome to Summer Bay’ sign. He sighed heavily. This was going to be messy, to say the least. He couldn’t very well just go and knock on Dan and Leah’s door and ask to speak to his son. They’d completely freak out. Maybe this was a bad idea …

He pulled over at the side of the road, and rested his head wearily on the steering wheel. He didn’t know what to do any more. Maybe he’d be better off going back to Clare and the baby. If she kept it. But he couldn’t do that – by now, she must know he had left. She’d never forgive him. He only had one choice – he had to face the music. Gillan wanted him dead, and after his family found out he’d been alive all this time, he highly doubted he’d have much left worth living for anyway. It was the only thing for it. He turned the key in the ignition to go to Dan’s house, but then stopped suddenly.

“Drew …” he muttered, stunned. It was definitely him – walking along by the side of the road, with a massive backpack slung over his shoulders. Peter gulped nervously. Now was the time … wasn’t it? But then he saw another car, just behind Drew, coming up slowly. The black tinted windows were what gave it away, and realisation hit him with a sickening jolt. Gillan’s men. But then he started to feel really, really angry.

“You’re not getting your hands on him,” he said to the empty car, and his foot his the gas. He screeched to a stop right next to Drew, keeping his hood pulled over his face, and bundled his son unceremoniously into the backseat of the car. He realised a moment later that Drew wasn’t moving – he must have hit his bead when Peter grabbed him. But there was no time to worry about that, as the black car sped up. He jumped quickly into the driver’s seat and pulled away.

He saw in his rear-view mirror, Gillan’s men speeding to catch up with him, so he quickly turned into a nearby side lane. Before the other car had a chance to react, he was off down dirt roads and through grassy ditches. He wasn’t sure exactly where he was going, but as long as the other car wasn’t following, he didn’t really care. And it certainly seemed to be working, as the path behind him remained clear for the next twenty minutes or so. He found himself back on solid road, too, and stopped for a moment to get his bearings. From the corner of his eye, he saw an abandoned old shed. That could work …

*****************************************

It felt like forever before Drew woke up. Peter was sitting outside, in his car, keeping an eye out for Gillan’s men, when he heard his son shouting from inside the shed. He swallowed nervously and unbarred the door, knowing inside, he would have to explain everything. The door swung open, and he saw the shadowy figure that was Drew fall to the floor. He closed his eyes – Clare had told him this would happen.

“Dad?” Drew said nervously, and Peter heard his voice shake.

“Drew, look … I’m so sorry, mate,” he said heavily. “I never meant for you to find out this way. Just … just give me a chance, Drew, and I’ll explain everything, okay?” The look on his son’s face said it all. Clare was right. Drew was never going to forgive him – his face was torn between frightened and furious. Peter wasn’t sure which was worse.

“How can you be here?” Drew said finally. “You’re dead. Dan saw you …”

“It was faked,” Peter said. “And I didn’t have anything to do with it!” he added quickly, seeing the rage cross Drew’s face.

“Yeah, right! What was it – you got bored of your life so you thought you’d pretend to be dead?! What about how it affected me – what about Dan, and Leah?!”

“Drew, none of this was my idea, okay?” Peter said pleadingly. “It was nothing to do with me. After, Zoë set the explosion at the wedding, I was unconscious. The guys in Witness Protection saw it as an opportunity to get me into hiding without anybody realising what their game was. They faked the whole thing – fooled the hospital machines into thinking I had no brain activity, and got Dr Green in on the act. The first thing I heard about it, I was waking up in some safe house three weeks later, and by that time, everyone already thought I was six feet under.”

“So why come back now? Bit late, isn’t it?” Drew shot at him angrily, and Peter felt an inexplicable urge to laugh. His son was a lot more like him than he knew.

“I came back to keep you safe,” he said. “The reason I was in Witness Protection is because Dennis Gillan, the head of a mafia family, wanted me dead. And somehow – I don’t know how – he found out I was still alive. His men have been coming after you; attacking you and sending us photos; in order to lure me out of hiding.”

“And it’s taken you this long to do anything about it?!”

Peter sighed, frustrated – if only Drew knew everything that had happened lately.

“I didn’t know a thing about it until yesterday, all right?” he said. “My boss showed up at the safe house with these photos, telling me it had been going on for weeks, and I hit the roof. I took off without saying goodbye to anybody I’d been staying with.”

“So now what?” Drew snapped, clearly still annoyed. “We move in here? Great plan!”

“No, now we wait until I’m sure Gillan’s men haven’t followed us, and we get you the hell out of here before they find us!”

“So … if I’m getting out of here, what are you doing? Just going back to your safe house and pretending like none of this happened? I’m meant to forget that, oh, by the way, my dad is actually still alive?! I don’t think so, Dad!” Peter sighed heavily.

“You don’t understand,” he said quietly. “Dennis Gillan isn’t the kind to give up without a fight. He won’t leave you alone until he’s got me where he wants me. And I might not always have made the best father, but I’ll be damned if I’m letting him lay a finger on you because of some ten-year-old grudge against Clare and me.”

“Clare?” Drew repeated, and Peter winced. “Your ex? She’s involved in all this too?”

“Yeah – she and I put Gillan and his whole family in jail; shut down the operation. And he wants both our heads in return.”

“So, uh … was she in the safe house with you?” he asked unsurely. Peter grinned – for a seventeen-year-old kid, he was certainly sharp!

“Yeah, she’s still in there,” he said honestly. “If Gillan doesn’t kill me, she probably will anyway for taking off like I did, so I reckon I’m better off this way anyway.”

“Is he really going to kill you?” Drew asked quietly, and Peter stopped laughing.

“I don’t know, probably,” he said, knowing lying more would only make it worse. “I mean, unless he’s had a miraculous change of heart lately, which I doubt. But it’s okay. If, after everything he’s done to you, the worst he does is kill me, I’ll be happy.”

“Dad, I … you don’t know what it’s been like! I thought you were dead; your brother thought you were dead; we’ve had to deal with that! Now all of a sudden you’re here again, telling me you’re back so some mafia guy can kill you?!”

“Look, it’s either you or me, Drew,” Peter explained, “and in my eyes, that means it’s me.”

“But that’s not fair!”

“None of this is fair, Drew, but I could never live with myself if you got hurt again because of something you had no control over. This is my mess. End of story.”

“I don’t want to lose you again, Dad,” Drew said tearfully. Peter sighed and hugged him.

“All I wanted was to be a good father,” he said hoarsely, fighting back his own tears. “And I know that by doing this, I will be. I love you, Drew, don’t ever doubt that.”

“I love you too, Dad,” Drew said, and his voice broke.

“Come on,” Peter said, trying to be strong. “We have to go.”

He led his son outside, putting on a brave face, but inside his heart was breaking. He had walked away from Clare again; from his baby; and now he was about to lose Drew again too. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take. But the screeching of brakes interrupted his thoughts, as the black car appeared around the corner at worrying speed.

“Drew, get down!” Peter shouted quickly, and Drew ducked out of harm’s way. A moment later, the car stopped and Dennis Gillan got out, gun in hand, followed by a broad-shouldered man wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket. Hired thug, Peter thought, his heart sinking.

“Well, well, Petey,” Gillan taunted him. “Missed me, have you?”

“Yeah, like a hole in the head,” Peter muttered, but not quietly enough.

“Let’s get this over with then, Baker,” Dennis snapped. “Inside, now! Come on!”

“Let Drew go,” Peter said quickly, not moving. “I’m the one you’re after. He hasn’t done anything to you. Let him go – by the time he got any help you’d be long gone.”

“True enough,” Gillan agreed, much to his surprise. “Right, get out of here, kid.”

“Dad, you can’t do this!” Drew said desperately, and Peter felt like screaming.

“Drew, just get the hell out of here as fast as you can!” he snapped. Drew gulped.

“I love you, Dad …” he said weakly, before turning and running. Peter watched him leave with a lump in his throat and tears in his eyes.

“Come on, Petey!” Dennis snapped, shoving him inside. But he had a sudden idea.

“Oh, what’s he doing?” he said in a false whisper. Bingo! Just as he’d hoped, Gillan and his hired goon turned to see what Drew was ‘doing,’ and Peter made a grab for the gun. The second man seemed to take fright and made a run for it. Gillan struggled against him, and suddenly, Peter found himself flung to the floor. For an older guy, Dennis had some strength in him, apparently! And more than that – he still had the gun.

“Any last requests?” he said, rasping. Clearly Peter had elbowed him in the throat during the struggle – he had been aiming for his chest, but had obviously missed.

“Tell me why you’re doing this,” he said, stalling for time. Gillan spat at his feet.

“You shut down my operation, Baker,” he snapped. “You put my wife in jail – you’re the reason she was murdered! A life for a life, Petey.”

“And the whole world ends up dead! Your wife died because of all the enemies you lot made on the outside, Gillan, not because of anything I did to her!”

“And what? You want me to apologise, hand over the gun so you can kill me?!”

“I don’t want to kill you, Dennis,” Peter said slowly, trying to calm the man down. “I don’t think there’s any need for anyone to become a murderer here today.” He made to get up cautiously, but Gillan let out a yell of anger and threw him to the ground. Peter slumped unconscious at the gangster’s feet. Gillan let out a derisive laugh.

“Say goodbye, Petey,” he mocked, holding out the gun and flicking off the safety.

Drew had kept running until he thought his legs were going to fall off, but didn’t stop until he reached the main road. He walked slowly along it, wondering where he was even going. All of a sudden, the ground below him shook violently and he heard three very loud, distinct gunshots. He fell to his knees as he realised what it meant. Tears poured down his face and he just sat there crying, for he didn’t know how long. He couldn’t believe any of this was real. His dad was alive … well, not any more, he wasn’t.

“Drew!” He barely moved as Harper and Fitzy ran up to him. Harper dragged him roughly to his feet looking concerned, and still he didn’t feel a thing. Just numb.

“He’s dead,” he told them, sobbing. “I heard the gunshots – they shot him; he’s dead.”

“Drew, who’s dead?” Harper asked him, but he just kept crying. Harper whispered something to Fitzy, and a moment later he was gone, and Drew was left with Fitzy holding him, trying her best to comfort him. But nothing could comfort him. Not now.

Harper led his team up to the abandoned shed, guns drawn. He tried the door, but it was barred shut from the inside. He pressed his nose against the dirty windows to see what exactly was going on inside. But the light was dim, and all he could make out were the shadowy figures lying spread-eagled on the floor. Three of them. He could only recognise one of them – Peter Baker! He stepped back from the window in shock.

“What the hell happened here?” he muttered ………

********************************

And that's all, folks! I'm leaving you all to guess who the three are and what exactly did happen - prize for the best guess is .......... I'll figure one out

Artwork or a fic or something of their choice (Lil, no Panda!)

This way, it's open if I ever do have a lot of free time to do a sequel, but for now that's the end. Hope you enjoyed the last chapter, and thanks to all my loyal readers!

[Jess]

Aww, that last chapter was so good, Alli! So dramatic! But poor Drew - he finds out Peter's still alive and then he gets snatched away from him. *wipes a tear*

Thanks for an amazing fic.; I'm gonna miss it!

xxx

Edit: Jessi has gone into detective mode...

Hmmm, is it too much to ask that Clarey somehow managed to use her super!detective skills to figure out where Pete is, and so the lovers have either died like Romeo+Juliet / / Antony+Cleopatra* *pick any Shakespearean tragic couple, or are playing dead to fool the bad guys?

[Mrs Bishop]

Aw Ali come on that,s not fair boo hoo.

Well I recon Peter has to be alive and Gillan and the thug are dead.

Do,nt you kill Pete I,ll come up to scotland and sort you out.