Andrew, 9

This computer's being cranky so we'll post this while we can - last one).

Giles started his car, went down the road, pulled in to the back of Cameron's house and tooted the horn. Jonas came out the door and waved, "Hey, Giles!"

He looked back into the house and yelled, "Cameron! Giles is here."

"Yeah, yeah. I can see him. See you later, Jonas." Cameron pushed out past him.

"Have one for me!"

"Get inside, you little punk." He slid into the car and buckled up. "Hey, Giles. Ready to party?"

"I'm ready. Hope you are." Giles backed out, turned and headed into town.

Cameron found some tunes on the radio and lay back in his seat, his head back on the headrest. A hand, with a sweet-smelling cloth, came around from behind and clamped across his mouth and nose. "What?" He struggled to get free and pulled at the hand, but it held firm. He took a deep breath and relaxed, slumped and sleeping.

"Gotcha!" Gabriel, in the backseat exulted. "One down and one to go."

Giles swept a worried glance down at Cameron who was, apparently, sleeping peacefully. "You sure he's all right, Gabriel?"

"He's fine. Stop your worrying, he's sleeping like a baby."

"He'd better be fine. Cam is my best friend and there's no way I want to hurt him."

"Giles, Cameron is my best friend too. I wouldn't hurt him. We're fixing his life here, not wrecking it."

"I hope so."

"We are. Shut up and drive."

He drove into town, along the crowded main street, along the Esplanade and around the bay. He didn't go on out to Taylor's Beach, he went straight ahead and stopped by the fish-processing factory on the wharf. The place was all quiet and dark. Gabriel got out and opened the door at the back of his father's van.

Together, they lifted Cameron out out of the car and laid him on the mattress in the van. Gabriel tied a gag over his mouth while Giles started wrapping his wrists and ankles with duct tape. "Sorry, Cam, but it's gotta be done."

They closed and locked the van and left him there while they drove back out to the Black's house.

"This is the hardest part," Gabriel said, getting back under the blanket on the floor in the back. "I hope your acting's up to it."

"So do I," Giles replied. "Wish me luck."

"Luck."

Giles got out and hammered on the door of Andrew's cottage. "Andrew! Andrew, are you there?"

The door opened and Andrew looked out. "Giles? What's wrong?"

"Everything! Fuck, Cam's in trouble, we've gotta help him!"

"Cameron's in trouble? How is he?"

"Come on, quick. We'll have to go and get him. I'll tell you on the way."

"Let's go then."

They leapt into the car and he rushed back into town.

"Where is Cameron and what's wrong?"

"He's lying in the back of a van and he's unconscious."

"Unconscious? What happened?"

"He took some stuff and it knocked him out."

"What stuff?"

"This stuff." Gabriel clamped the cloth over his face and pulled him back against the seat.

As Cameron had done, Andrew fought to get free, breathed in the fumes, and slumped - out to it.

"Damm. This one's a lot stronger than he looks," Gabriel grinned. "But, we got him."

"Yeah, we got both of them, " Giles grinned back. "Now we've just got to get them out there."

"No worries. It's all plain sailing from now on."

Back at the van, they laid Andrew in there, gagged and secured him and locked the door. Giles parked and locked his car. Gabriel took his keys, put them in an envelope and slid it under the door of the shed.

"There. They may not even be back in, but now Dad and Garth can use your car if they need it. Let's get out of here."

He handed Giles the keys, they got into the front of the van and Giles drove, back through the town, over the hill and headed south. They had a long way to go, up to Gabriel's home in the hills.

"How long will they sleep for?"

"Not sure exactly, but they'll be awake long before we get there. No worries, Giles. They're okay."

"Easy for you to say."

"Yeah, but they are. They're tied-up and locked in there and they've got the mattress to lie on. As long as you don't drive us over a cliff or something, they'll be fine."

"We'll try not to do that then."

It took several hours for Giles to drive out to Gabriel's mountain home. The roads were good but he wasn't familiar with them and it was raining. Boy, Was it raining! It started shortly after they left and the further they went, the heavier it got. It was a slow trip and Giles was worried, not about the driving but about what they were going to do when they got there.

"Gabriel, you said that we were going to leave them in the tent, somewhere away from the house?"

"Right. The plan is to put them down by Teddy's pool and leave them there, with Molly by day and Morrie by night, to make sure that they stay there. We'll free them when they work it out and come out together."

"Yeah, that was it, and it was a good plan too, but we can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Come on! Look at that rain. We can't, Gabriel. I will NOT leave my mate out in a little tent in that. I'm not doing it, and unless you come up with a better idea, I'm turning the van around and we're going back."

"Yeah, you're right," Gabriel sighed. "Of course you are. We can't do that, it's way too wet and that rain will be freezing cold too. It gets as cold as ice-water. We can't leave them out in that. The idea is to fix their lives, not to end them."

"What are we going to do then?"

"Dunno. You keep driving while I have a think about it. Damm. Everything was going so well until now.

"Yeah, it was. Be a shame to go through all this for nothing."

"It would. Quiet now, I'm thinking."

They went along in silence for a couple of minutes. Giles said, "They're probably going to hate us, you know."

"I know, but we had to do something. Doesn't matter anyway, if we can get those two together, it'll be worth it."

"I guess. I don't want to lose my mate though. Cameron's my oldest friend."

"You won't lose him, you're his best friend too. Blame me if you like. I've got big shoulders. Tell him that I made you do it, he'll buy that."

"He probably would buy it, but I'm not doing that. You're a bloody good friend, Gabriel. I hope we're going to be mates too."

"Me too. Shut up now, I'm still thinking."

They arrived, pulled in and parked under the carport roof at the back of Gabriel's home. The two got out of the front at looked at the teeming rain out there.

"Damm, it's wet," Giles said. "Cold too. Have you decided what we're going to do?"

"I think so. We'll just have to hit them with the truth and hope they've got enough brains to sort it. If they want it enough, they'll get over us."

"Hope you're right."

"Me too. Wait here while I open the house up and turn the lights on."

He did that, and then came back and opened the van door and they both looked in. The trussed-up pair in there were awake, lying there looking daggers at them. They couldn't talk, they were still gagged.

"Oh good," Gabriel smiled. "Everybody's okay then. Welcome to my home, Guys. We're back up in the mountains and we're here for the weekend. Don't worry about your parents, they know where we are and, roughly, what we're doing. I was going to put the pair of you in the tent and down by Teddy's pool, but we can't do that. It's too dammed wet and cold. Instead, you're going up to the guest-room and we'll put you in there, alone together.

You can co-operate, or I'll knock you out again and we'll carry you up. What's it going to be, are you going to make it easy?"

Cameron glared. If looks could kill, they'd be in trouble. Andrew nodded.

"Great, Andrew, thanks." Gabriel had a pair of scissors in his pocket. "Hold still, I'll cut the tape off your legs and we can walk up."

He cut through the duct tape, freed his legs and they helped him out of the van and onto his feet. Gabriel shut the door again. "Right, come this way, we're going upstairs.

Giles said, "What about Cam?"

"I'll come back for him in a minute."

Gabriel led the way, Andrew and Giles followed and they went up the spiral staircase to the guest-room. Gabriel sat him down on the big bed.

"You just wait there. Stay with him, Giles, and I'll go and get Cameron."

He went back down to the van and looked in. "All right, Cameron? I know you hate me and I don't care. Andrew's upstairs, now we've gotta get you there. Co-operate or I'll knock you out and carry you, that's the only choice you've got."

Cameron glared, sighed and nodded.

"Great! Thank you. Stretch your legs out and I'll cut them free."

He got him out and they went upstairs. Giles sat him on the bed.

"Here's the plan," Gabriel said. "Giles and I are going to leave you here. We'll go downstairs, get the fire going and get something to eat. You'll both be dying for a drink. You two are going to stay here. You can free each other, and then you can sort your shit out."

Giles said, "Cam, I'm really sorry to do this to you. I hope that you'll forgive us."

Gabriel said, "I don't care and I'm not sorry either. Something had to be done, so we did it. You two have been pussy-footing around for weeks and it's time you stopped. You're living in the same house, so far. Apparently, Andrew's planning on leaving. You're both gay and you care for each other. From what I can see, you both think you're not good enough. Andrew, Cameron's in love with you. I know that because he told me, and I think that you love him too. It's about bloody time you told him.

Cameron, if Andrew leaves, he won't be back. Do something about it or you're going to lose him and you'll be sorry forever. The scissors are there. You can free each other and you can sort it out. We'll take you home on Sunday. Don't even think about going out the window, it's pissing down out there and Morrie will be there to stop you. Morrie by night and Molly by day, and they'll be wild about it too, so don't try them. They are killers.

Giles and I will leave you now. We'll get the fire going and warm the place up. Sort your lives out and call me on your cell when you're done. We'll let you out and feed you, and not until then. C'mon, Giles." He led the way out.

Giles closed the door and grinned, "Awesome, Wild Boy. You're a good mate."

"Yeah, well," he shrugged. "Hope Cameron still thinks so."

"He will, once he calms down. What've we got to eat?"

Cameron picked the scissors up and, with difficulty, cut the tape from around Andrew's wrists. Andrew freed Cameron's hands, and then they undid each other's gags. Cameron was white-faced and so mad he was shaking.

"How dare he? Who the fuck does he think he is? I'll kill him. I'll fucking kill him!"

"Whoah! Settle, Cameron. From what I've heard that'd be easier said than done. Do you really think you could?"

"No, probably not. But I'll bloody try!"

"Wouldn't be wise. It's a hell of a way to do it, but I think they're trying to help us."

"Help us? Like this?"

"Yes, like this. That true, what he said, you love me?"

"Damm. He should keep his big mouth shut!"

"But do you?"

"Well . . I . . yes! Dammit. Yes I do, I love you."

"Likewise." Andrew kissed him.

Cameron melted into him. "Andrew. Oh, Drew, please don't leave me!"

"I thought I had to," he grinned.

"No! You can't."

"Right, I can't. I'm staying. I love you, Cameron."

"Damm, I love you so much." Cameron kissed him.

One thing led to another and they were busy for an hour. They finally broke apart and agreed that they were starving. They tidied up and Cameron called Gabriel on his cell.

"Gabriel, that's enough. Come and open this door and let us out or I'm going to smash it down."

"Are you going to smash us?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Hope it's not. Have you sorted things?"

"Yes, we've sorted things."

"Well, good! Are you both happy?"

"Yes, we're very happy."

"You're together? Great! Come on out then, the door's not locked."

"It's not? You're a bastard, Gabriel."

"Yeah, I am. I'm a bastard who loves you and wants to see you happy. Come on down, tell Giles that you still love him, and then we'll feed you."

"Thanks, Gabe."

"Welcome my friend."