(no subject)

Guppy’s mother looks at him in the eyes. It is nice for her to see him back at home. He hasn’t ventured into the house since leaving when he got his job at Holby A+E department. The living room smells of his mother’s perfume, and it is comforting.

"You must go now Gurpreet. Your father will be home soon." She says, gently brushing back his dark curls as Guppy shakes his head.

"This has to be sorted out mother. It will be easier here. He should be calmer in front of you."

"I cannot take your side if you fight. He is my husband."

Guppy nods. He understands. He hugs his mother tight, breaking free only when an annoyed voice barks at him from behind.

"What are you doing in my house?"

Guppy turns and faces his father. Jas looks furious, angrier than Guppy has seen him in a long time. But he isn’t afraid. He won’t be afraid of his father.

"We need to talk. You won’t listen to me at work, or after work, so I have come here."

"And what exactly must I do to make you go away? I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to be friends with you. I couldn’t care if I never saw you again, got that?"

"Why? I don’t understand why we can’t work this out."

"Then you are more stupid than I thought. I didn’t think that was possible. Now get out of my house."

"No. Not until we talk."

Jas asks Guppy’s mother to leave the room, which she does, hoping that the two of them are going to patch things up. Jas’s voice is softer, but dangerous.

"Get out of my house and never bother me again, or I shall make you."

"No. You can’t make me. I am your son."

"Get out of my house!"

"No!"

"Last chance! Get out!"

"NO!"

Jas hits him. Being much bigger than Guppy, the unexpected blow knocks him onto the floor. He yells, clutching his eye, which waters and stings horribly. He hears his mother gasp from somewhere over the other side of the room.

"Got the message yet boy? Get out."

Last chance. Guppy picks himself up and faces his father.

"No. I love you, and I want to make things up with you."

Jas’s expression turns very sour, as if love were a swear word.

"Then I didn’t hit you hard enough."

The second blow is less unexpected, but again knocks him to the ground. He isn’t down long. His father grabs him by the throat and pulls him to his feet, physically throwing him out of the house. The door slams.

Guppy lies on the driveway for a moment in total shock. His father hit him, and not just once, twice. He was so desperate to make Guppy go away that he had resorted to physical violence. His father has never hit him before. He stares at the door, willing it to open, for his father to come back out and say that he didn’t mean that. Nothing happens.

The physical pain catches up with him. Slowly, mentally checking for broken bones, he sits up and then gets to his feet. There’s a graze where he landed on his arm, but apart from that and the eye he is unhurt. Taking one last look at the door, he wanders away from the house, bewildered by the last few minutes’ events.

He wanders through the streets of Holby for an hour, waiting for Abs and Nina to go out to work before returning home. He almost wishes he’d get mugged; at least then he’d have an excuse for the bruises. When he thinks it is safe, he heads back to the house and lets himself in. Once in the hallway, he hears a noise from the kitchen and jumps.

"Who’s there?"

"Only me." Abs comes in, drying a glass with a tea towel. "I swapped shifts with Claire and… what the hell happened to you?" he asks, putting the glass down and coming over. Gently he reaches out and examines the eye. Guppy turns away.

"I’m fine. I walked into a door."

Abs raised his eyebrows.

"What, and the door got nasty and got its big brother to beat you up? You’re going to have to do better than that." He leads Guppy through to the sitting room and goes to get some ice.

"Someone’s left the bloody freezer open!"

He comes back with a half-frozen bag of peas and hands it to Guppy, looking at him with concern.

"You need to get checked out, and then we’ll get the police."

"No! Really, I’ll be fine. I was just clumsy, that’s all. I’m going to go to bed now. I’ll be fine."

He gets up and Abs grabs him by the arm. He jumps and tries to pull away, expecting the unexpected.

"Calm down mate. If you’re refusing to let me help you then at least tell me whether you were knocked out or not."

"No, I wasn’t." Abs lets go of his arm and continues to look at him with psychoanalytical eyes. "Thanks Abs. I’ll be fine." He repeats, going upstairs. He goes into his room and…

‘WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? I’VE BEEN WORRIED SICK!’

Mitzi bombards his already throbbing head with telepathy.
‘What’s happened? Who did that to you?’

Guppy walks into his bathroom, yelling "I'm fine" behind him. Only it's not the bathroom, it's the bar.