Trial & Error

32

"Red, why are you pacing?" Seth asked as he slowly made his way into the living room. It was nearing three in the morning and Becky still hadn't come to bed.

"I just can't sleep. My mind is racing." He flopped down on the couch as his eyes watched her as she continued to pace.

"Why?" He asked as he relaxed into the cushions.

"What if we moved back here?" He almost immediately shook his head earning a genuinely confused look.

"Still not the safest place Bex." She sighed as she sat down next to him. "I'll always have this place here but it's not a place I'd want all of us staying permanently in." He said softly as his arm slipped around her.

"It's just this house is so perfect but our houses in LA are just... I don't know..." He chuckled softly.

"They're not ours. There's a lot of bad memories in your house and mine. And my house in LA is just unnecessary and not either one of us." She laughed lightly as she nodded. "We could keep this one here for when we're in town, sell the other two and find something on the west coast that we both like." Her head moved to rest along his shoulder as she thought about it.

"You sure we can live together? We never did it last time." She felt his hand slipped beneath her shirt before his thumb started to move along her hip.

"Bex we've basically been living together the past couple of months and we've both grown immensely since last time. And I mean fuck, you can always send me back here when you get sick of me." She thought about it for a moment as she felt his cheek move to rest along the top of her head. "We don't have to make any rash decisions just think about it Love."

"What if I don't need to think about it?" His head popped up before his eyes met hers. "Colby, I'm ready to settle down if you are." He immediately started to laugh. The second he saw her heart break though her eyes he stopped and his lips landed on hers.

"I've wanted nothing more than that Red." He mumbled against her lips before he could feel her smile. "I can put my house on the market next week."

"We'll sell yours then find a house before we sell mine. I don't want to have to move a thousand times with Ty." He chuckled as he nodded.

"That's fine as long as your fine with living with me in the meantime." Her lips connected with his.

"I think I could clear a drawer for you." He started to laugh.

"I'll put my shit in the guest room. Your closet is already as full as it can get." She shoved him lightly before she started to laugh. It instantly stopped however when there was banging at the door.

Seth's hand moved carefully over Becky's lips before they sunk down on the couch. She watched as he pulled out his phone and saw an image of two men in dark hoodies looking for a way in. As he signaled for the cops he felt her slip out of his grasp. He tried to stop her only to have her once again move away from him and go to her son.

He heard the redhead lock the bedroom door the instant the front door was forced open. As his instincts kicked in, she was grabbing Tyler and silently moving to hide in the bathroom.

"Mum whats going on?" The small boy asked tired and completely confused. She simply wrapped her arms around him as she curled into the tub her back to the door protecting him.

"Nothing little Love. Just go back to sleep." She was almost grateful of the fact that he was easy to get back to sleep. Becky arms tightened around Tyler as she heard Seth presumably being thrown into a wall. As tears began to flow from her eyes she heard the sound of sirens approaching the house.

"Red open the door." Becky heard less than five minutes later. Slowly she stood and composed herself before adjusting Tyler in her arms. The second she opened the door her eyes scanned his body. His face was barely touched but she assumed that he took most of the damage to his midsection. As her eyes trailed lower she stopped at the knife in his thigh.

"Colby you need to sit the fuck down." His eyes followed hers to his leg.

"Holy shit! What the fuck!" All the adrenaline left his body as she saw him turn completely white. "How the- What the-." His body hit the wall behind him before he fainted and hit the floor. She didn't even have a chance to react before there were officers surrounding him. As she somehow managed to keep Tyler asleep they called for an ambulance as she stepped into their bedroom and called Holly.

Holly arrived just as they loaded Seth into the ambulance. She made her way over towards the redhead before giving her a gentle shove towards the vehicle.

"Go. You both can explain what happened later." The redhead nodded. "Is Tyler still asleep?"

"He's in the guest room." Holly nodded as Becky climbed into the ambulance and the doors were shut. She watched as Seth was hooked up to multiple machines as they were taken through the streets of Davenport. As her eyes trailed lower she stopped at the knife that was still in his leg.

"They won't remove it until they get a clearer shot but honestly it looks like he got lucky. It looks like the person grabbed the smallest knife you both had in your kitchen and it seems to be mainly in his muscle. And by looking at him those two idiots didn't know who the fuck they were messing with." Becky couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips.

"Well what fucking burglar breaks in, turns the lights on and doesn't back down when they've got nothing to defend themselves with." Seth started once he finally came to. "I just made the stupid mistake of kicking one of them into the kitchen."

"No you made the stupid decision to take on two guys instead of letting the police handle it." His head turned towards her before he rolled his eyes. As her eyes met his she saw the pain that was hidden behind his eyes. Her hands engulfed one of his before she saw him flinch. She looked down before her eyes landed on his mangled knuckles. When her eyes met his he released a small chuckle.

"What can you say? I'm an idiot that loves my family more than anything."