AN: This begins at the end of the last episode. There's one big change that I've added, purely because I was confused about it in the episode; you'll probably understand once you read it. I'm not entirely sure whether I'll be carrying this on, it started off that way but I realised it will be the my third active fic and I don't know if I can keep up - having said that, drop me an opinion and if it's liked I might carry it on because thinking about it, the title seems odd if I don't.

Anyway, enough rambling from me. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. Let me know what you think!

They became an entanglement of limbs in the police waiting room. Kevin Chalk and Dynasty Barry, finally free to be together without the external threat of a violent ex-boyfriend, although Steve-O's mark was going to be there for a long time to come. It was going to take a while for Dynasty to overcome the obstacles placed in front of her, but after a week of silent suffering, she finally found the comfort she had been searching for in Kevin's arms.

"I'm sorry." Kevin repeated, when they broke apart. "I was such an idiot. I was thinking about that scumbag when I should've been thinking about you."

"You don't have to apologise, Kevin." Dynasty sighed, interlocking their fingers. "Come on, we'll wait for Connor with the others."

…

Blanketed in an uncomfortably awkward atmosphere, Christine Mulgrew and Imogen Stewart waited in complete silence. The latter had been regretting her outburst, mentally cursing herself for letting the fact she was married slip out so easily; it hadn't been necessary, Imogen didn't need to say it, she just needed to get help for Dynasty.

The traumatised girl's admission had saddened both of them, and Christine couldn't get it out of her mind. It had happened, again. The worst thing a man can ever choose to inflict upon a woman, or vice versa, had struck again. After finally overcoming her demons and ridding herself of alcohol for the foreseeable future, it wasn't nice to see someone else affected by it all over again. One thing hurt about today more than most – she couldn't bring herself to say the word rape, and to her, it signified that he was still winning, even after all these years.

And now her son was being questioned by the police on grounds of conspiring to harm with intent… her married son. A strange thing to find out, but with the chaos surrounding poor Dynasty's confession, she hadn't quite decided how to react.

Imogen decided the time was right to break the ice but as she did, Kevin and Dynasty entered and the words on the tip of her tongue changed. "How'd it go?"

"It wasn't nice… it wasn't nice to talk about it. But it's over now, isn't it? He's gone." Dynasty tried out a smile, but her timid delivery showed her mood. She tried to cover up by adding, "I hate police stations. Remind me of my dad."

The three of them gently asked Dynasty about the questioning process, cautiously choosing their words so as not to trigger any sort of emotional reaction; she had done enough crying today. At one point, Kevin slipped his hand into hers, as he had done earlier that day in English – that felt like a lifetime ago. Fear mixed toxically with adrenaline was still pumping through his veins. Talking about killing Steve-O was easy enough; in reality, the whole thing had terrified him. Looking back just a couple of hours later, Kevin mentally chastised himself. He didn't know how to handle a gun! He would've bottled it when the maniac turned up, endangering himself and Connor in the process. I did that anyway, he remembered. That gun could have so easily been loaded, and he would be lying in a hospital bed now, or worse, a morgue. Guilt powered through him at that. His best friend was right when he said it wasn't what Dynasty wanted or needed but he hadn't listened, because he never listened.

"Where's Connor?" Kevin asked, suddenly. "They've kept him in way longer than me."

Christine had been quiet during while the kids chatted. She knew exactly why they had kept her son in custody longer than Kevin, but she didn't want to say it.

"Why have they released you on bail if you haven't done anything wrong?" Imogen wondered, though still not sure what exactly had happened down at the docks. Seeing her husband and one of her closest friends in handcuffs was a massive shock.

It was a thought playing on Dynasty's mind, too. "Yeah, what even happened down there?"

"The police said they had an anonymous call." Kevin started; he knew Barry had called them, but admitting that would only cause more trouble in the long run. "Basically, the called insinuated that someone was going to be seriously harmed down at the docks by two boys in school uniform." That part left a bitter taste in his mouth; Barry hadn't needed to mention that. He could've reported Steve-O and explained his whereabouts, but no, he twisted it. Noticing the startled looks on all of their faces, he quickly carried on. "It wasn't like that! And Connor was only there because he was trying to stop me. That's why we were late for your lesson this morning, Miss. He was trying to talk me out of it but I wouldn't listen. When Dynasty told me what Steve-O had done to her, I saw red. Anyway, we were arguing and then Steve-O turned up and pulled a gun."

The others took a sharp breath of air as they listened, not quite expecting to find out what had truly happened. Kevin recounted the rest of the tale – arguing with Steve-O before he pulled the trigger, only to realise the gun was empty. It was quite difficult to talk about it when the details had to be spontaneously edited.

It was a little while later when the doors to the waiting room opened, and a police officer entered. "Dynasty Barry?"

She stood up. "Y-yeah?"

"We have formally detained Steve-O Malone on one count of rape, one count of blackmail, two counts of harassment and one count of possessing illegal firearms. He will not be granted bail, due to his previous convictions."

Dynasty's legs felt like jelly and the nauseating feeling that had been prominent since the attack intensified. "So, he's going back to jail, yeah?"

"It's likely, but there will be a trial sometime in the near future. You will be called to testify."

If she had expected it at all, her whole mind took it as a huge blow. Of course she would have to give evidence... but standing up there, in front of a jury, defence, and prosecution sounded like the scariest thing in the world. He would be watching, too. Steve-O – the name felt like bile in her throat now, where once it had been the name of the most special bloke in the whole world. Granted, she was just a kid when they first got together, a kid without much ambition or encouragement from her family. To Carol Barry, Steve-O was an absolute diamond sent from heaven; a perfect match for her beautiful daughter, a man who would provide for her and fund the life-style that a Barry girl deserves.

Attending Waterloo Road changed all that. Dynasty realised she was worth more than a council flat and a couple of kids, designer handbags and boxes of peroxide – and then he turned up to Scotland, paroled. Suddenly, she was swept up in nostalgia and adrenaline, and she found herself falling back into his clutches.

"Excuse me, but where is my son?" The teacher asked, nervously.

"Yeah, where's Connor?" Kevin repeated. "Has he been released on bail, like me?"

"I'm sorry to be the one to inform you of this, but we'll have to keep Connor in custody."

"What?" Christine paled. She knew why, she just didn't want to confront it. "Why?"

"As you're probably aware, your son has a criminal record and by getting arrested he broke the conditions of his probation. Don't worry, though. This case has extenuating circumstances, and we are pretty sure Mr Mulgrew won't be faced with a jail sentence. From interviewing you both," the officer turned to Kevin. "it sounds like you two are innocent of the things you're accused of, but it's procedure. We'll be keeping him in overnight."

"Will you release him tomorrow then, if it's just overnight?" Imogen said, nervously.

"It looks likely. As I said, it's all procedure. If we could find the source of the phone-call, we'd have more chance of understand what happened and clearing you both of all charges."

"It was Barry." The words slipped out of Kevin's mouth before he had chance to think about them. Barry would no doubt kill him for entangling him in this mess, but if it got Connor out of the cells, it was worth it. "It was Barry, Dynasty's brother."

"What?" Dynasty had to sit back down. It was getting worse and worse, too confusing for her muddled brain to take.

"Connor told Barry what Steve-O did to Dynasty. It was all a set-up so he could get back at Steve-O, but I didn't realise. The gun was empty because Barry unloaded it.. the police car pulled up just as Barry ran off. He made us swear to keep it between us three but I don't care. You can't keep Connor in when he didn't do anything wrong! He was there to stop me from doing something stupid, that's all, I swear." He took a deep breath. "I want to change my statement, please."

Tears stung Dynasty's eyes, again. She knew Barry suspected something when he came questioning her at break. He was uncharacteristically afraid of Steve-O but it did make sense, in a way; Barry's strong sense of family loyalty had only ever faltered once, when Kacey announced she was a boy. The tears were happy. Between Kevin, Connor, Imogen, her brother and even her English teacher, the isolation that had plagued her since the assault was finally wavering, and she realised she did have people there for her, willing to help her.

Dynasty Barry was not alone, and she wasn't going to let Steve-O Malone break her.