Tom ran back into the house as the police car pulled away and phoned his solicitor, Alan.

Tom was in shock and felt tears forming in his eyes and he explained to Alan what had just happened.

Tom put the phone down and phoned Jon and told him to come home now.

Tom sat there and heard Jon pull up. Jon ran into the house and said “what’s wrong dad?”

“Sit down son,” Tom said.

Jon sat down and Tom looked up and said “it’s Ben, he has been arrested.”

“Arrested, what for?” Jon said.

“Fraud son,” Tom said.

“That’s crap dad,” Jon said.

“Yeah, I know son. But you and me need to go to the police station and show a united front,” Tom said.

“Sure dad,” Jon said.

Jon insisted on driving and they arrived at the local police station. Tom walked into the front desk office and asked at the desk, “good afternoon, I am enquiring what is going on with my husband, Ben Andrews Rees?” tom asked.

The pc behind the counter tapped the name into the computer and said, “yes, he is undergoing an interview at the moment sir.”

Tom said, “ok” and went and sat next to Jon.

An hour later, Alan came out of the back and said, “I cannot believe this. Someone has stitched Ben up good and proper, Tom. They have charged him, mate, with 6 counts of fraud.”

“But he hasn’t done anything,” Tom said crying.

“You know that. I know that. But the evidence is solid, mate. I am so sorry, Tom,” Alan said.

“So what do we do now?” Tom asked.

“Well, Ben will appear in court later today and I am applying for bail,” Alan said.

“Oh god, poor Ben,” Tom said.

Ben was in the cell at the police station crying. He couldn’t believe this was happening to him. He has never done anything illegal in his life.

Tom was granted 5 minutes to see Ben. He walked into the cell and saw his husband sitting there crying. He walked over and hugged him and said, “babes, we will get through this.”

“No, babes. I am going to prison for something I haven’t done. I know I am,” Ben said.

“Not if I have anything to do with it, you won’t,” Tom said.

Tom left Ben and said, “be brave, my love.”

“I will babes,” Ben said.

Tom wasn’t allowed to go into the magistrate’s court where Ben appeared, but knew straight away when Alan appeared alone, that it was bad news.

“They remanded him in custody. They wouldn’t listen to my appealing for bail,” Alan said.

“Oh for fuck sake, they can give someone who is on a murder charge or rape charge bail, but not an alleged fraudster,” Tom said.

“I know, but I will submit an appeal tomorrow, when he appears at the crown court,” Alan said.

Tom saw the prison van pull out of the back out the court building, and cried as the van went past heading for the nearby prison.

Tom arrived home, feeling dejected, and was worried about Ben. He knew Ben could look after himself,  but also knew he was in a vulnerable state at the police station. He sat on the settee and sobbed. Jon was sat next to him, hugging his dad. Lucy arrived shortly afterward and walked into the house and said, “what’s going on, son?”

“He has been remanded in custody,” Tom said, with tears rolling down his face.

“That’s is rubbish, son. Ben would never do these things they are saying,” Lucy said.

“I know mum, but he has been set up good and proper,” Tom said.

Ben’s parents and brothers arrived shortly later and were equally gobsmacked at what had happened.

Ben, meanwhile, had arrived at the local prison, and was now being processed. He was scared shitless and the officer doing the processing could tell Ben was vulnerable.

Ben was given a single cell in the remand wing at the prison, and sat there looking at the four walls and the small window and thought, “what the fuck am I doing in here?”

Ben was also put on suicide watch, as Officer James Tanner was worried he might do something stupid.

Ben lay down onto the lumpy mattress and slowly drifted off to a disturbed sleep.

Tom meanwhile had had a restless night. He kept thinking of Ben, all alone in that place and couldn’t get asleep.

The next morning

Ben was taken to the local crown court. Tom, Jon, Lucy, and Ben’s family, all arrived at the court. Alan was there, as was another person. Tom walked up to Alan and said, “how’s Ben?”

“Yeah, he seems ok, but I think he is just putting a brave face on it, to be honest,” Alan said.

“Tom, I want you to meet Dennis Harrison. He is Ben’s barrister,” Alan said.

“Hi, pleased to meet you,” Tom said.

“Likewise, Colonel Rees,” Dennis said.

“How did you know I was a Colonel?” Tom enquired.

“Lady Jayne Dobson told me last night when she engaged me to this case,” Dennis said.

“Oh ok,” Tom said smiling.

Tom joined the rest of his family in the public gallery, as the hearing started. Ben looked tired to Tom, but he stood up and confirmed his name and address, and pleaded not guilty. Dennis was fantastic and soon had Ben out on bail.

Ben walked out of the courtroom and landed straight into the arms of his husband.

The story had hit the local media, and they were outside the court, as Tom and Ben left. One of the reporters pushed a camera into Bens face and said, “any comment, sir?”

Ben looked at the guy and said, “no comment.”

Another reporter said, “did you think you would get away of ripping off the taxpayer?”

Tom pushed past and said, “I thought that, in this country, it was innocent until proven guilty. Now leave us alone!”

Tom and Ben got into the car, which Jon was driving, and drove off as the cameras flashed.

Ben realised that they weren’t going home and said, “where we going?”

“Don’t panic, babes. We're staying with Brad and Daffyd tonight. That way we should get some peace from the media,” Tom said.

“Yeah, but one is following us?” Jon said.

“Oh shit, bastards” Tom said.

“Ok, pull into my office and go into the underground car park,” Tom said.

Ben said, “Ok, but what good will that do?” 

“Jon, I want to ask Greg to bring your car here, ok?” Tom said.

“No problem, dad” 

Greg didn’t bring Jons car, but instead brought Alices car. Tom said, “why you brought your mum's car?”

“I was at mum's, and went to go home and pick up Jon's car, but there were press everywhere. So I drove straight past,” Greg said smiling.

Tom was talking to Greg, when Andrew saw him and came over and said, “hi Tom, how is Ben?”

“He is pissed off, to be honest mate. We were followed here, and the car is still outside waiting for us to leave,” Tom said.

“So, you got a plan I take it,” Andrew said.

“Yeah, Jon will drive my car back home and pull straight into the garage and close the door; meanwhile, Ben and I will stay here and leave in Alice's car, and go to Brad And Daffyds, as planned,” Tom said.

Andrew asked, “Yeah, but won’t they notice that there isn’t anyone in the back?” 

“Yeah, Greg can sit in the back, but that will still leave only one person,” Tom said.

“I have an idea. Why don’t I sit in the back with Greg,” Andrew said.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to involve you mate,” Tom said.

Andrew said,“Listen, you two are friends of mine and it will be no problem to do this.” 

Andrew got into the car.

Ben was in the back of Alice’s car.

Tom watched, as Jon drove out and saw that the car followed behind them. He then jumped into Alice’s car and drove out on his way to Brads.

They arrived at Brad's and Daffyd's house a short while later, and went in. Brad saw Ben and went over and hugged him and said, “you ok mate?”

“I have had better days,” Ben said.

Tom said, “We had a small problem. That’s why we are in Alice’s car and not mine. One of the paparazzi was following us.” 

Tom phoned Jon and said, “you ok, son?”

“Yes Dad. It was mental when we arrived here, but we did what you said and Andrew has spoken to the police about that car following us. The police are here now, dad” Jon said.

“That’s fine son. Let them in. They know where we are. I informed them earlier that we are staying with Brad,” Tom said.

The police officers who came informed Jon that they had ordered that the media moved on from the public highway, and they had warned the driver of the car to stop harassing the family.

Tom put the local news on, and the headline said, “local man realised on bail in hospital fraud enquiry.”

“33 year old Ben Andrews Rees was a senior physiotherapist at Coninton District Hospital, until earlier this year, when he left to take up a new job at the local rehabilitation unit at Coldbrooke Hall. Mr Andrews Rees refused to speak to us, as he left court with his partner, well known former Colonel Tom Rees. They returned home to their home in Coninton, after visiting Tom’s office in Coninton. Police arrived at the house, earlier, and after speaking to the family, the media which was outside, was ordered to leave. Mr Andrews Rees will appear in court again in a few weeks, but will have to answer bail at the local police station regularly. This is Jayne Ellington reporting, from Coninton for Midland Tonight.”

Ben said, “I have always thought she was a bitch.”

“Yeah, she was one of the idiots I had hell with before,” Brad said.

A few days later

Tom and Ben had stayed at Brad and Daffyds for a few days, but were today finally going home to their house. Ben sat in the car as Tom drove towards Coninton. Ben smiled as Tom took a detour and turned into Coldbrooke Hall. “What are we doing here?” Ben asked.

“Lee wants to see you, babes” Tom said.

“Oh ok, but am I allowed here?” Ben said.

Tom said, “Yeah, of course you are babes.” 

Ben walked in and was immediately met by Alistair.

“Hey Ben, isn’t it good to see you,” Alistair said.

“Yeah, it is nice to be here, even if it just a visit mate,” Ben said.

“You know, we are all behind you in this,” Alistair said.

“Yeah, thanks mate,” Ben said.

Ben spent a few hours at Coldbrooke Hall. He was talking with Lee when Tom said, “well babes, time for us to get home.”

“Yeah, it has been nice being here again, even it was just a short visit. I am really going to miss this place,” Ben said.

Lee said, “yeah, and we are missing you already, mate. It is not the same here since you have been away.”

“Lee. believe me. He will be back soon enough,” Tom said.

Tom and Ben left Coldbrooke and Tom drove home.

A few weeks later

Ben arrived at the local police station to answer his bail.

Detective constable Stephanie Reynolds arrived at the desk and said, “Mr Andrews Rees, can you come with me please?”

Ben followed the young detective into an interview room.

“Mr. Andrews Rees, I need to ask you a few questions about your movements on a few dates, in reference to withdrawals being made from bank accounts in your name held at Barclays bank and the Cooperative bank.

Ben looked at the woman and said, “I don’t bank with either. My bank accounts are with Halifax and HSBC.”

“Mr. Andrews Rees, we have already started to get more information about where you have deposited the money you have taken, so you might as well cooperate with us,” Stephanie said.

“Well, first of all, call me Ben. Secondly, like I have tried to tell you all along, this is nothing to do with me,” Ben said.

“Yeah, so you have said. But in the meantime, can you tell me where you were on the 15th October last year?” Stephanie asked.

Ben smiled, “well, actually, I can. I was with my husband at Buckingham Palace. He was collecting his MBE.”

“Oh, and you can prove that I suppose,” Stephanie said.

“Absolutely. There  was a photo of us standing outside the palace, in the Daily  Post the next day, and there is a copy of the photo on the wall in my office at Coldbrooke hall, ” Ben answered.

“Ok, we will contact the Daily Post for a copy of the photo. Now, on to January 15th this year, do you recall where you were on that day, Ben?" Stephanie asked.

“Yeah, I can. I was in Loch Lomond, helping a patient whose new wife was worried about his leg. I went up and stayed overnight,” Ben said.

Stephanie asked, “Can anyone confirm this?” 

“Well, Lee Thomas, a patient at Coldbrooke, or there is a doctor in Loch Lomond called Dr. Blair, who also came out,” Ben said.

“Ok, I will contact Mr Thomas,” Stephanie said.

“Anyway, the last date is February 2nd,” Stephanie said.

Ben said, “Umm, to be honest, I was in work all day.” 

“Ok well, Ben, I can check that the withdrawal made on that day was done in Barclays in Newport in South Wales,” Stephanie said.

Ben looked at her and said, “I have never been to Newport. I have been to South Wales, but never Newport.”

“Were you in South Wales on that day though?” Stephanie said.

“No, I haven’t been down to South Wales recently, even though my husband’s family originate from there. We don’t go down as much as we used to,” Ben said.

“Well ok,” Stephanie said.

“Now, I need to show you some CCTV footage from the bank in Coninton, where money was withdrawn on January 15th,” Stephanie said.

“Ok,” Ben said.

Stephanie showed Ben the footage and Ben asked, “can I say something? I don’t own a grey hoodie like that.”

Ben leaned forward and said, “can you pause and slow reverse it a moment?”

Stephanie slowly rewound the footage and Ben said, “stop.”

Stephanie stopped it and Ben said, “that is not me. I don’t have black shaved hair. The only person I know who does is Gary Timpson.”

“What? You can’t make allegations like that,” Stephanie said.

“Seriously, look, you can see his black hair under the hood,” Ben said.

Stephanie looked at the footage and spotted what Ben was saying. You could see Gary’s black hair clearly.

“Ok Ben, well that’s all I need to ask you for today. You will have to report here again next Wednesday. Ok?” Stephanie said.

“Ok, no problem,” Ben said.

Ben walked out of the police station and drove home, feeling that he was getting somewhere.

Stephanie confirmed Ben’s alibis and also showed her superior officer the footage. Detective Sergeant Ryan Green agreed that it looks like Ben had been set up by someone, and started to dig deeper.

Gary Timpson had been cleared of the disciplinary charges against him, and had returned to work at the hospital. He was really pleased with himself, setting up his arch enemy, Ben. Gary knew that Ben was now out on bail, and he went to a cash point to withdraw cash, using the account he had set up in Ben’s name. He arrived at the Barclays bank, but found the outside cash point was out of order. He went inside and used one inside instead. This was his first mistake, as the cctv footage showed him clearly. He had also forgot to put a hoodie on, so this time he was easy to spot.

The withdrawal was immediately informed to the police, and Barclays gave the police the CCTV footage.

Ryan watched it and said, “gotcha.”

Steph said, “what?”

“Look. Does that look like Ben Andrews Rees?” Ryan asked.

“No, that is Gary Timpson,” Steph said.

“I know, and he looks like he is pleased with himself,” Ryan said.

“Yeah, he does,” Steph said.

A week later

Gary was with a patient when Steph and Ryan arrived.

Stephanie walked up to the desk and said, “Gary Timpson here?”

“Yeah, he is with a patient,” Rebecca said.

“Well, I am sorry, but we need to see him. So can you go and get him, please” Ryan said.

“Well, I suppose I can deal with the patient,” Rebecca said.

Stephanie and Ryan followed Rebecca and waited outside the door.

Gary walked out and Ryan said, “Gary Timpson, I am arresting you for conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice,” and read him his rights. Three of the department staff watched in shock, as he was led away in handcuffs.”

Police also raided Gary’s home, and found lots of evidence, including the bank cards belonging to the accounts in Ben’s name. There was also other evidence relating to the case. The officers took away Gary’s PC, for further analysis.

Ben had no idea of what had happened at the hospital, and arrived at the police station to answer his bail as usual. The desk sergeant said, “Mr Andrews Rees, can you take a seat for a minute please?”

Ben said, “ok.”

Steph had just finished interviewing Gary, who, after seeing the footage and realising that Ben had cast iron alibis for the dates of the withdrawals, finally confessed that he had set Ben up and it was him, and not Ben, who had stolen the money.

Steph walked into the front office and went out into the lobby and said, “Ben, come with me please.”

Ben followed Steph, expecting more questioning, but instead Stephanie said, “you will appear tomorrow morning at crown court one, in front of a judge to get the charges formally dropped. But as far as we are concerned, you are free to go.”

 Ben said, “what!?”

“You are free to go, but please accept my apologies for all the crap you and your family have been put through,” Stephanie said.

“Oh wow, but how?” Ben said.

“We arrested Gary Timpson at the hospital, earlier today, and he has now been charged,” Stephanie said.

“Well, I hope he gets what he deserves,” Ben said.

Ben walked out of the police station and crashed to the floor in relief. A nearby young police officer walked over and said, “you ok, sir?”

Ben looked at the officer and said, “yes thanks. I just had some good news, that’s all. Sorry if I scared you, young man.”

“That’s ok, sir” the young officer said as he walked away.

Ben walked away and picked out his mobile and rang Tom.

Tom was in his office, and was filling in some paperwork. One thing Tom does enjoy about his new job is that he does a hell of a lot less paperwork than he used to. Tom picked up the phone and said, “good afternoon, Tom Rees Andrews.”

“Hi Babes,” Ben said.

“You sound happy. You ok?” Tom said.

“Yeah, I have some great news babes. I have been cleared, all charges dropped,” Ben said.

“Way hay, finally they see sense,” Tom said.

“Yeah babes, but Gary is feeling the heat now. He has been charged,” Ben said.

Tom said, “Good, that is what he deserves, babes.” 

“I know, babes” Ben said.

Tom walked out of his office and said, “guys, good news. All charges against Ben have been dropped.”

“That’s great news, Tom,” Jon said, smiling.

“Yeah, we can now get back to bloody normal, hopefully, after a few weeks of hell,” Tom said.

Andrew came in and said, “good news, I hear Tom?” handing him a copy of tonight’s Post.

Tom looked at it and saw “Patients and hospital staff in shock as Physio Dept Head Arrested.”

Tom smiled and said, “wow.”

35 year old Gary Timpson was arrested in the hospital's physiotherapy dept, after police swopped. He has since been charged with 7 charges of fraud, and one charge of trying to pervert the cause of justice. These charges are believed to relate to large sums of money, which have been redirected from the department into several bank accounts. The other charge is believed to relate to Mr Timpson opening the accounts in the name of a former colleague, who was arrested on similar charges recently.

Det Sgt Ryan Green made a statement, earlier, confirming that all charges against his former colleague, Ben Andrews Rees, had been dropped and that Mr Andrews Rees was totally innocent of any wrong-doing. Mr Andrews Rees wasn’t available for comment, as we went to press.”

Tom said “and, if I have anything to do with it, he won’t be available for comment at anytime soon.”

Tom left his office, and had a camera put in his face. Standing there was Tom’s favourite TV reporter, Jayne Ellington. “Colonel Rees, what do you think of the police investigation into the fraud at the hospital?”

Tom smiled and said, “I don’t have a problem with the police investigation, as Ben and I always knew they would catch the right person in the end. But I do have a problem with TV reporters like you, pushing cameras in my face and expecting me to answer your questions. My family have been through hell in the last few weeks, but that was made worse by the Media's constant intrusions into me and my families’ private life. So, if you don’t mind, I would like to get home to my husband and son, so that we, as a family unit, can move on with our lives. Thank you.”

Tom got into his car and drove home to Coninton. He arrived at his house to see a media circus camped outside. The cameras went mad, as Tom pulled into the drive. He heard one reporter say, “Ben Andrews Rees’s husband, Tom, has just arrived. He earlier accused the media of hassling his family.”

Tom walked through the door, to see Ben in the lounge with the shutters shut. Tom walked over to him and hugged his husband, and said, “don’t worry, babes. They will soon have someone else to hassle.”

Tom picked up the phone and called Alan.

“Hi mate, is there anything we can do to get this media circus moved on?” Tom said.

Alan said, “yeah, you can apply for a court order against the biggest culprits, and the others will run scared. So, who is the biggest culprit?"

“Umm, Jayne Ellington for Midland Tonight,” Tom said.

“Ok, I will arrange the court order straight away,” Alan said.

Two hours later

Jayne Ellington was getting ready to report live from outside Tom and Ben’s home, when Alan pulled up. Alan walked over and said, “are you Jayne Ellington?”

“Yes, why?” Jayne said.

Alan served her with the court order and said, “you have ten minutes to pack up and leave, before I call the police. And I suggest you think again before hassling innocent people.”

Jayne was shocked, but phoned her boss who said, “transfer to outside the hospital, and we will do the live feed from there.”

The trucks belonging to Midland Tonight, moved off and headed for the hospital. The court order also ordered her not to mention Ben's name, in any report to do with this case.

Tom, Ben, Jon, and Greg, all sat down and watched, as Midland Tonight came on.

“New twist in Coninton Hospital fraud investigation,” the news reporter said.

“There has been a major development, tonight, in the ongoing investigation of fraud at Coninton Hospital. We now go live, to Jayne, who is outside the hospital for us."

“Thank you, Tony” Jayne said.

“At around 11am this morning, two police officers arrived here at the hospital and arrested a 35 year old man, believed to be head of the physiotherapy dept, Gary Timpson. He was later charged with 7 charges of fraud and one charge of trying to pervert the course of justice. This has been an ongoing investigation, for a few months, and the police confirmed earlier, that a 33 year old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who had been previously charged with charges relating to this case, had been cleared of all involvement in the case. This case has rocked the physiotherapy dept, and the hospital trust has tonight issued a statement."

Coninton NHS Hospitals Trust has cooperated fully with the police investigation into allegations of fraud at Coninton District Hospitals physiotherapy dept. We regret that some patients, who were in the unit this morning, had to witness a senior member of our staff being arrested. Mr Timpson has now been formally suspended from his duties, until the outcome of this court proceedings. We also would like to say that we feel that the trust also let down the former colleague, who was originally arrested and charged in this case; who, while he worked at the hospital, was a well regarded colleague.”

“So Jayne, what will happen next?” Tony asked.

“Well, Gary Timpson and the 33 year old, who can’t be named for legal reasons, will both appear in front of a judge, in a closed hearing tomorrow morning. Gary Timpson was remanded into custody earlier today, and he will be brought in Coninton Crown Court in the morning,” Jayne said.

“Thank you, Jayne” Tony said.

The next morning

Ben and Tom arrived at Coninton Crown Court at 9am, in readiness for Ben’s appearance before the judge. The crown prosecution service would today formally withdraw the charges before Ben. He will be free to go. Ben stood in dock, before the judge. The barrister for the cps stood up and said, “your honour, the cps have gone through the evidence it has been given, and has come to the conclusion that the defendant, Ben Andrews Rees, has no case to answer; and therefore, we are withdrawing all charges against him.”

The judge, the Right Honourable Samuel Freeman QC said, “thank you Mr Andrews Rees. You are free to go.”

Ben walked out of the dock and joined Tom and the two men left the court by the back door. They spotted Gary being led into the court, in handcuffs, by the prison escort security guard.

Ben looked over and Gary smirked.

Ben said, “look at him. He still thinks he is something special.”

Tom said, “yeah, something special. Well he is getting his just desserts now.”

Tom and Ben got into Toms car and drove home.

Gary was led into the court room. He stood in the dock before the same judge.

The Cps barrister stood up and said, “Mr Timpson has tried, unsuccessfully, to set up a former colleague of his on the charges he now faces before this court. He is a vindictive young man, who thought he had got away with this terrible crime. The cps is not confident, if he is given bail, that he would answer bail; so therefore, we are applying to have him remanded in custody.”

Gary’s barrister stood up and said, “my client is fully aware that he would have to answer any bail restrictions set down by this court. I don’t think the nature of this crime really justifies a remand to custody, therefore we appeal for bail to be set.”

The judge said, “I have listened to both sides of the arguments, and to be honest, I feel that I side with the cps on this one. This case is not just a fraud case against a big company, but a fraud against a NHS hospital, and I think for his own safety, he would be better off being remanded into custody until a date for the full trial be set.”

Gary stood up and the Judge said, “Mr Timpson, the serious nature of the crimes you have been charged with mean that I have come to the conclusion that, in the interest of your own safety, that you will be placed on remand until your trial.”

Gary was led away.

Meanwhile

A young 18 year old lad walked into the local police station with a slightly older lad with him.

The desk officer said, “can I help you?”

Simon looked at the young officer and said, “I need to speak to someone. I have been raped,” with tears rolling down his face.

His older brother, Gavin, hugged him.

The desk clerk immediately got an officer to take Simon into a side room. Detective Constable Stephanie Reynolds was in the cid office, when the desk constable rang up. “CID Detective Constable Reynolds speaking,” Stephanie said.

“Hi Stephanie, its James on the front desk. We have a young lad down here who has been raped. Can you come down please?”

“No problem James,” Stephanie said.

Steph had dealt with one other male rape victim in her career, but had dealt with many female rape victims. So she knew how delicate this will be to deal with.

Steph opened the door and saw the young blonde haired lad sitting there with his brother.

 “Hi. I am Detective Constable Stephanie Reynolds,” Steph said.

“I am Gavin Dawson, and this is my younger brother, Simon” Gavin said.

“If you will come with me, we will go to our sexual offences suite, where we can video and tape the interview,” Stephanie said.

Gavin held onto Simon as he followed Steph into a room.

James had already set the video room up, and DS Ryan Green was watching from there.

Steph set up the tape and said, “for the sake of the tape, I am Detective Constable Stephanie Reynolds. We are conducting an interview with Simon Dawson. Also present is Simon’s brother Gavin, who is present at his brothers request, and police constable James Metcalf. The time is now 12 30 on March 10th.”

Simon was scared, but knew he needed to tell all about the terrible ordeal he had suffered.

“So, Simon, in your own time, I need you to tell me what happened.”

Simon said, “I was in the local hospital, having treatment for my injured leg.”

Simon stopped, and started to cringe, and had tears rolling down his face. Gavin took hold of his brother and said, “come on Simon, you can do this mate.”

“I was receiving treatment from a physio called Gary Timpson. He asked for me to be taken to his room, on the third floor of the hospital, for more treatment. A porter wheeled me there and left me in the room. Gary arrived a short while later and . . .” Simon stopped and said, “I can’t do this,” and he broke down.

Steph said, “we will take a break. The time is now 12 45," and she switched off the tape.

Steph said, “take a break for a minute, and when you are ready, we will start again.”

Simon calmed down

"restarted at 13 05”

Simon took a deep breath and said, “he got me to strip naked, which I thought was strange, but he was the professional. So I did, and he had me to lie down on the bed on my stomach, and then he got on top of me,” Simon stopped again and started to cry again.

Steph waited for Simon to compose himself.

Simon then said, “I tried to get him to get off me, but he wouldn’t. Then I felt his hard dick press against my arse. He then fucked me three times, each time cumming inside me.”

I tried to scream for help, but he put a sock in my mouth to gag me,” Simon said.

Gavin was crying when he heard the ordeal his younger brother had been through.

“Simon, I need to ask when did this happen?” Stephanie asked

Gavin held Simons hand and Simon said, “last Wednesday.”

“Would you know the name of the porter who took you there?” Steph asked.

“No, I hadn’t seen him before,” Simon said.

“Ok, no problem,” Steph said.

“So, what happened next?” Steph asked.

“He threatened me. He said, if I told anyone, he would kill me. And to be honest, I was scared to death by the evil look in his eyes,” Simon said.

“Simon, you are a brave young man. Don’t let a man like that ruin your life,” Steph said.

Simon said, “I doubt if I will ever trust a doctor again.” 

“Now, Simon, James has been writing down everything you have said, as well as the video and tapes.  We need you to counter sign your statement for us,” Steph said.

“Ok,” Simon said.

“Interview finished at 13 45 Stephanie said,” and switched off the tape.

Steph said, “Now, I don’t know if you have heard, but Gary Timpson has been arrested on separate charges, and was remanded in custody this morning, so you are safe. Ok?.” 

“Really, I didn’t know,” Simon said.

“What’s in the bag, by the way?” Steph asked.

“These were the clothes I was wearing the day I was raped. The underwear has blood and semen on them,” Simon said.

“Ok well, I need you to have a medical check up and maybe you can provide a semen sample, so that we can eliminate your semen from the underwear,” Steph said.

Steph took Simon to meet the police doctor, Dr Adam Kelley.

Adam asked Simon to take off his trackies and underwear. Simon did, and Adam spotted the severe bruising around the anus. He examined Simon, and could tell that he had definitely been brutally raped. He asked Simon to provide the semen sample, and left him alone to do it.

Adam walked out and said to Steph, “yeah, this lad has been brutally assaulted in the anus. There is a lot of bruising. I have taken photos, and I have left Simon alone to get the semen sample for us.”

Simon walked over to the door a short while later and said, “ok.”

Adam walked back in, took the sample, and placed it into evidence bag. The sample, along with the underwear, were sent to the lab for analysis.

Stephanie went into the room and said, “right Simon, I think we are done for now. Gavin is waiting for you in reception, and remember what I said. Don’t let this idiot ruin your life. We will be in touch soon, ok?”

“Yeah thanks,” Simon said.

Steph walked the young man out to the lobby and shook his hand. She went back to her office and spoke to Ryan, who had watched the interview in the recording room, and said, “we don’t have enough evidence yet to charge him, but we need to find that porter.”

Steph arrived at the hospital later and went to see the head porter.

Head porter, Phil Jefferies, was just about to go off duty, when Steph arrived.

“Good afternoon. I am Detective Constable Stephanie Reynolds. I need to speak to a young porter who was on duty last Wednesday, and moved a patient from ward 7 to the physiotherapy dept on the third floor,” Stephanie said.

“Well, that doesn’t give me much to go on. I have nearly 30 porters on shift at any one time,” Phil said.

“What, you don’t keep a track of where your staffs are?” Steph said.

“Yeah, but patient movements can be done on a spur of a moment, and not all are documented,” Phil said.

“This is a serious investigation I am carrying out, and I would appreciate a bit of cooperation,” Steph said.

Phil said, “ok, calm down. He looked in the staff log and said, “ok,it is one of two porters, either James Meredith or David Jameson.”

“Ok, is either on duty at the moment?” Steph asked.

“Yeah, yhey both are. I will call them now.”

“This is a staff announcement. Can James Meredith and David Jameson report to the head porter’s office immediately.”

James was taking a patient to an out patients clinic, and David was just coming back from his break, when the announcement came over.

Pete, another porter, was walking the other way, and James said, “hey mate, can you take Mrs. Hills to out patients 3 for me?”

Pete said, “no problem, mate.”

James arrived at Phil’s office just as David did. “What’s going on? David said.

“No idea, mate,” James said.

James and David walked into Phil’s office to see a woman sitting there.

“Come in, lads” Phil said.

“This is Detective Constable Steph Reynolds. She wants to ask one of you some questions, so first of all, which one of you two took a patient last Wednesday from ward 7 to physiotherapy?”

David looked up and said, “that was me. A young lad, Simon, I think his name was.”

 ““Ok, well thank you, James. You can go,” Phil said.

James said, “ok,” and left.

“Would be ok if I speak to David alone please?” Steph said.

“Yes, of course,” Phil said, leaving the room.

“Now, David, tell me, when you took Simon to the physiotherapy dept, did you think there was anything unusual about the request,” Steph asked.

“Yeah, I did. As it wasn’t to the usual room, but Gary Timpson’s office. I, at first, thought it was a mistake, but Gary said that is where he was doing his treatment,” David said.

“Now, how would you say Simon was on his way there?” Stephanie said.

David said, “He was very talkative and a nice young lad.” 

“Ok, did you return Simon to his ward, or did Gary?” Steph said.

“I did, around two and half hours later. What’s this all about?” David asked.

“Ok, Simon has made some serious allegations against Gary Timpson. I need to get some facts before we peruse any further,” Steph said.

Steph asked, “Now, how would you say Simon was on the way back?” 

“He was really quiet and very fidgety, and seemed to be in pain,” David said.

“Would you say he seemed to be in pain in any particular area?” Steph said.

“I am not a doctor, but he seemed to be in pain around his arse, to be honest,” David said.

“Did you ask him if he was ok?” Steph said.

“Yeah, a couple of times. Bbut he didn’t answer me,” David said.

“Thank you, David. You have been most helpful,” Steph said.

David walked out of the room and went back to his duties. Steph, meanwhile, headed up to ward 7.

Steph walked over to the desk, and showed the charge nurse her badge. She said, “can you tell me if you were on duty last Wednesday?”

Charge nurse Sarah Hamilton said, “yes, I was. Why?”

“So, you would have been here when Simon Dawson returned from physiotherapy?” Steph said.

“Yes, I was. He was in a bit of a state. He wouldn’t let us go near him, and later signed himself out,” Sarah said.

“I take it you didn’t think that was unusual behaviour?” 

“Well, to be honest, we have all sorts of behaviour in this place, so no,” Sarah said.

“So, he signed himself out and left? Would you say he seemed distressed when he left?” Steph said.

Sarah said, “Yeah, but he wouldn't listen to us, and we are not allowed to force patients to stay.” 

“Did you inform Gary Timpson about him leaving?” Steph asked.

“Yeah, he reacted strangely, to be honest,” Sarah said.

“In what way?”Steph asked.

“Well, he said, you should have phoned me. I would have changed his mind for him,” Sarah said.

“Ok, thank you Sarah,” Steph said.

Stephanie returned to the station and Ryan met her and said, “come on. We got to go to the prison.”

“Why?” Steph asked.

“We got him, Steph. Positive ID of the semen on Simons pants, and on his PC,  he had wrote a diary. And on last Wednesday, he wrote 'finally got to fuck Simon's arse. So tight. It was a pleasure to hear him scream,' ” Ryan said.

“Thing is, there were other entries. Looks like Gary was quite a sex fiend for young lads,” Ryan said.

“What a dirty bastard,” Steph said.

“Yeah, one entry he wrote on Friday last week, is about a young porter called David, and how he would love to tie him up and fuck him hard,” Ryan said.

“Oh shit, that is one of the people I interviewed at the hospital earlier,” Steph said.

Gary was led into an interview room at the prison, and saw the two detectives who sat there.

“Gary Timpson, I arrest you on suspicion of rape," Ryan said, and read him his rights. 

Gary was gobsmacked, and knew he had been caught out, and just sat there silently, refusing to speak to the detectives.

Steph, “ok, Mr Timpson. If that’s the way you want it, you will be appearing in court tomorrow morning.”

Ben and Tom were heading up the m6 when Ben’s mobile went off. Ben looked at it and saw Jon.

“Hi son,” Ben said.

“Hey dad, you'll never guess what,” Jon said excitedly.

“What son?” Ben asked.

Tom meanwhile had pulled into Hilton park services.

“What? Really? wow,” Ben said.

“He has been charged with raping an 18 year old boy at the hospital,” Jon said.

“That is sick. I always knew he was strange, but to do that to a patient it is sick,” Ben said.

“Yeah it is,” Jon said.

“Thank you for letting me know the latest, son” Ben said.

“No probs dad,” Jon said.

“So, what’s going on?” Tom said.

“Seems Gary couldn’t keep his dick in check. He has been charged with raping a young lad at the hospital,” Ben said.

“The sick fuck!” Tom said.

“Yeah, I hope he rots in hell and gets the same thing back to him in prison,” Ben said.

“Yeah, let’s hope so,” Tom said.

The evening post newspaper came out with a headline,

RAPED in Hospital Bed

Head of physiotherapy dept is charged

The scandal hit physiotherapy department at Coninton District Hospital. It has hit the headlines again tonight, as the suspended head of the department, Gary Timpson, has been charged with the rape of an 18 year old male patient. The 18 year old lad, who cannot be named for legal reason, walked in Coninton central police station this morning, and made a statement that last Wednesday, he was brutally raped on a hospital bed in Timpson’s office within the physiotherapy department. Timpson was formally charged with the crime at the prison, where he is currently on remand for fraud and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice charges.

The local news crews were camped outside the hospital again.

Tom and Ben arrived at the hotel, where they stayed before, on the banks of Loch Lomond

Tom checked in, and Ben noticed that they had the same room. Ben said, “wow, you organised this, didn’t you?”

“Of course. Only the best for my husband,” Tom said.

Ben walked over and kissed Tom and said, “god it feels so good to be free.”

Tom smiled and said, “I told you it would be fine.”

“Yes I know, babes” Ben said.

The two men then walked out onto their balcony and watched as the sun set over the Loch.

Jon and Greg were at home in Coninton.

Greg said, “so, have you spoken to Tom and Ben yet, about moving out?”

Jon said, “well, not yet, babes. With all that has been going on lately, I didn’t like to.”

Greg smiled and said, “well, that is understandable.”

“I will tell them when they get back from this holiday.”

Tom had already suspected that Jon was going to move out with Greg, now living in a flat near to the hospital.

The next morning

Ben was up early and watched the fish jumping in the Loch, whole schools. He looked into the room and watched as his husband slept. Ben walked back into the room and went into the adjoining bathroom. Tom woke up a little while later, and spotted Ben was missing. Tom got out of bed and noticed the bathroom door was ajar. Tom walked over to the bathroom and opened the door and gave out a sigh of relief, as he spotted his husband in the shower. Tom walked over, got into the shower, and put his arms round Ben and said, “why didn’t you wake me?”

Ben smiled and said, “you looked so cute sleeping, I didn’t like to wake you.”

Tom laughed and kissed Ben and said, “you know, I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

Ben kissed Tom and said, “let’s not think of that. It is time for you and me to move on.”

Tom laughed and said, “yeah, we do.”

The two men then left the shower and got dressed and went down for the breakfast. They sat in the restaurant, when Ben spotted some familiar faces in there.

“Ok, what’s going on?” Ben asked.

“Umm, what do you mean?” 

“Well, why are Brad and Daffyd here?” Ben said.

Tom looked round and said, “no idea, babes.”

“You know you can’t lie to me,” Ben said.

“Ok, they wanted to come and join us, but I told them that I wanted it just to be us last night. So they came up but stayed away,” Tom said lying.

“That’s nice, just the four of us,” Ben said.

“Yeah,” Tom said.

Tom walked over to Daffyds table and said, “I just told him it’s just us four, so keep the party quiet, ok?”

Daffyd laughed and said, “yes boss.”

Brad and Daffyd were the main organisers of the party, and all of Ben’s and Tom’s families were coming.

Tom kept Ben away from the hotel for most of the day, and when they did arrive, he managed to get him into the hotel without him noticing Jon’s car parked in the car park.

Ben and Tom were sat in room when Tom’s mobile buzzed. Tom picked it up and saw it was a text from Jon. Tom opened the message and it said, “we are all ready.”

Tom looked at Ben, who had just got ready to go down for the evening meal, and said, “let’s go then.”

Ben and Tom walked into the lobby, but Ben was surprised when Tom walked through the door to the function room, instead of the restaurant. Ben followed him, and was gobsmacked when he spotted the big banner, “Congratulations Ben.”

“You swine,” Ben said to the smiling Tom.

Tom said, “gotcha.”

Ben spotted his mum and dad and his two brothers, Harry and Tyler, sitting there with Lee and Carol. Ben walked over and said, “hey.”

Harry got up and hugged his brother and said, “I am so glad this shit is over.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ben said.

Tyler smiled and said, “oh bro, we have some news for you. Carol is expecting, so you are going to be an uncle.”

Ben smiled and said, “that’s great news.”

Tom was happy to see his husband reunited with his family. Ben then noticed that Lee and his wife, Diane, were  there.

Ben walked over and said, “hey, it’s great to see you. How are you doing?”

Lee smiled and said, “we're doing great. It great to see you smiling again, mate.”

“Thanks, mate. It feels great to be able to get back to normal, and I am looking forward to getting back to Coldbrooke,” Ben said.

“Yeah, it will be great to have you back, mate. I have missed your cheerfulness,” Lee said.

Diane looked at Lee and said, “I have some news for you as well.”

“Oh what?” Ben asked.

“My brother and his husband have both left the Army, and they are planning to move to the US,” Diane said.

“Oh, wow. Why did they quit?” Ben asked.

“Maurice was pissed off because the Army wouldn’t let him back into his unit, and Dan was frustrated at being overlooked for promotion, so decided as his original term was up it was time to go,” Diane said.

“Yeah, it can be like that in the Army. I found it difficult, at first, when others kept getting up the ladder before me. But then my chance came, but I only got to Corporal, myself.  Tom was the star of our unit,” Ben said.

Lee said, “it can be a pain when you see people who you think are not good enough, get the promotion before you.”

“Yeah, it can be,” Ben said.

“My old unit has had another bad hit recently. Two of my old mates were killed. I am glad to be out of the Army,, to be honest,” Lee said.

“Yeah, Tom told me you had been discharged, mate,” Ben said.

“Yeah, I knew it was coming, but it still hurt to be kicked out, to be honest,” Lee said.

“Don’t think of it like that, mate. Think of it as your chance to make a new start,” Ben said.

“Yeah, I am planning a new start,” Lee said.

“Yeah, got anything planned then?” Ben asked.

Lee said, “Yeah, I have applied to work for the Legion.”

“That’s good. Where will you be working?” Ben asked.

“Probably with Tom, in some capacity,” Lee said.

“Oh, that will be great, mate” Ben said.

“Oh, and I want to do a charity event. I was thinking of a walk from John o Groats to Lands End, but Diane doesn’t want me to do that,” Lee said.

“Yeah, I don’t think you should do that on your own, mate. But maybe get a few other guys to do it with you, and you can count me in. Maybe Tom will do it as well.” 

“That would be fantastic,” Lee said.

A few months later

The scandal had got worse after six male patients and three former staff members came forward and made allegations against Gary. It seems he had raped several young men over the past few years but none of them were brave enough to report him but since Simon they felt they needed closure on what had happened and all 9 of them made statements.

The physiotherapy department has now closed and the remaining staff have been redeployed at another hospital. The trust terminated Gary’s contract. The head of the trust was also fired after the health secretary intervened. The trust itself has been investigated and the department of health has decided to merge the trust with another one nearby.

Gary is due in court in a few weeks facing the original fraud charges and the new sexual charges.

Ben and Tom were busy getting ready for the Coast to Coast walk with Lee Jon Dunnet and Andrew Thompson and several members of the forces who have joined in. Rhys and Shaun are also taking part in the walk as well as their son Matthew and Tom’s son Jon and Greg Bonner.

Jon and Greg now live in an apartment near to the hospital where Greg is training to be a doctor like his mum. Jon is now training hard to become a nurse. Greg did originally plan to do nursing but decided that he would rather be a doctor so changed his course.

Tom is proud of his son. Ben has really got back into the swing of things at Coldbrooke and has finally been formally promoted to the head physiotherapist. Alistair has recently moved on and a new head is due to be appointed shortly. Tom has tried to persuade Ben to apply for the job but Ben refused saying he like to be hands on and not stuck in an office all day. Dr Alice Bonner has applied and has had her interview and is waiting to find out whether she has got the job.

Matthew Rhys’s son has recently shocked his dad by deciding to join the Army. He has recently passed his medical and is now waiting to start his training. Rhys and Shaun are scared in case he ends up out if Afghanistan but Tom and Ben have spoken to them and reassured them that he will be ok.

The group all assembled at John o ‘Groats to start the long journey to Lands End at the other end of the UK. One of Ben’s colleagues, Justin, was providing physio cover for the event, and they had three support vehicles with them. Lee would walk from John o’Groats to the English border, then John Dunnet will take over for a few days, with Andrew taking over afterward. Lee would rejoin them at the Somerset – Devon border. Andrew will then take a day’s break and rejoin Lee and the group, to walk the final few miles to Lands End. Tom, Ben, Rhys, Shaun, and the lads will walk the full route. There are also 6 soldiers joining them all the way.

The Coast to Coast walk, as they had christened it,  gained a lot of publicity. There was sponsorship in the region of £6million already secured. There were also buckets, so people could throw money into them along the way.

Lady Jayne Dobson stood in front of the men and said, “good luck, everyone. I will see you at Lands End.”

Jayne fired a gun and the team walked away.

Lee was leading the group, with Ben alongside him. They were all wearing Navy t-shirts, with Royal British Legion Coast to Coast walk, written on them. Two support vehicles were behind, with warning lights flashing, and the third was in front.

At the end of the first day the group stopped off from their first checkpoint and overnight stop.

Ben was already getting concerned about Lee overdoing it. As soon as they stopped, he took Lee to one side and said, “mate, we'll take it a bit slower tomorrow. I am worried you are overdoing it a bit.”

Lee laughed and said, “hey, I understand, old man, if you can’t keep up.”

“You cheeky swine,” Ben said laughing.

“But you are right. Maybe we should slow it a bit tomorrow. My leg is hurting a little,” Lee said.

“Ok, let’s get you to Justin,” Ben said.

Justin was already dealing with one of the soldiers, who had hurt his ankle, when Ben and Lee arrived.

Ben saw that Justin was busy and said, “ok Lee, jump up on that bed.”

Lee did as he was told and Ben started to check Lee’s leg.

Justin spotted Ben, and said, “hey, that’s my job.”

Ben laughed and said, “yes, I know, but you are busy with Gareth.”

“Ok boss,” Justin said.

The next morning

The group set off again, at 8am, and were heading further south. Lee had listened to Ben and had slowed down, and now it was Jon, Greg, and Matthew, and the soldiers, who were heading the group. Tom, Ben, and Lee, all walked together. Rhys and Shaun were walking just in front.

The group arrived at the second night time stop, and they had raised a further £2m in donations.

A BBC television crew arrived and asked for an interview.

The group decided that Lee should do the interview, and Lee was surprised when he was told the interview would be going on national TV.

The interview was to be conducted by TV presenter, Henry South.

Henry was standing by the groups support van, and said to the camera, “I am with the brave young man, Lee Thomas, who was one of the main people behind the Royal British Legions Coast to Coast walk.”

“Lee, welcome,” Henry said.

“Thank you,” Lee replied.

“So, what made you decide to do this mammoth walk?” Henry asked.

“Well, to be honest, I have been under the care of the British Legion for nearly two years now, at their Coldbrooke Hall centre, in the midlands. I decided that I wanted to give something back, so I thought, originally, of doing this walk solo. But I was persuaded by my physio to, do it as a relay. That way I get to rest, and other wounded former service people can take part,” Lee said.

“So, I take it you are not doing the full route from John o Groats to Lands End then?” Henry asked.

“No, I am not physically  strong enough to do it, so former Sergeant Jon Dunnet takes over from me after tomorrow. I believe former Corporal Andrew Thompson will take over from Jon on Friday. Jon and I will rejoin the group next Wednesday, when we reach Cornwall for the final assent into Lands End,” Lee said.

“So, are the entire group ex service personnel?” Henry asked.

Lee said, “No, we have two nurses,a trainee doctor, a trainee nurse, and a soon to be trainee soldier, as well.” 

Henry asked, “So, are all the other people doing the full route?” 

“Yes they are. And along the way, we will be joined by other people,” Lee said.

“So, it is a relay just for the injured soldiers then?” Henry asked.

“Yeah, but even some of the able bodied members have been injured and have used the British Legion's services in the past,” Lee said.

“Now, with us is another member of the group, 18 year old Matthew Taylor,” Henry said.

“So, Matt, why did you decide to join the group?” Henry asked.

“Well my uncle was in the Army, and I will soon be joining a unit for training. My uncle's best friend, and his partner, both work for the Legion. My dad is a nurse at the Birmingham Hospital, which deals with wounded soldiers. So I decided that this a good way to keep fit. Like Lee already said, it is a great way to give something back for the fantastic work the Legion does for wounded soldiers and their families in this country,” Matthew said.

“Thank you guys,” Henry said.

“Now, if you want to make a donation, please visit our website. There is a link there. This is Henry South, reporting for BBC News, with the coast to coast walkers in Scotland.”

The next morning

Rain was lashing down, and the group started the third day, the final day for Lee.

They finally arrived a few hours later at the English border, and Lee spotted a car parked at the side of the road. Jon Dunnet was waiting beside the car and smiled and said “hey mate, you made it.”

Lee laughed and said, “sure did.”

Lee shook Jon’s hand and stood beside the car, as the rest of the guys arrived. He waved them off, as they carried on until the overnight stop in Berwick upon Tweed.

Lee left the group and headed back to Coldbrooke Hall.

Jon Dunnet, and the group, arrived in Berwick an hour or so later. They were met by another camera crew, this time from Sky. They requested an interview, but were disappointed when they were told that Lee had gone home.

Jon Dunnet and Tom went and met up with the interviewer, Karen Hardcastle.

“So, Tom, why did you want to take part in this walk, and do you think it is a good way to get donations?” Karen said.

 “Well, I have been dealing with injured soldiers for a good few years now, and I think it is time for me to do something to help these wonderful people, like Lee, John, and Andrew, who have been through hell over the years. Yeah, by the look of it, we have raised a good few donations, so yeah, it is a good way to raise money,” Tom said.

“So Jon, why did you decide to join the group on this journey?” Karen enquired.

“Well Karen, I was badly injured nearly four years ago, in Helmand, and I was quickly put into the care of the Legion. For the last two years, I have been working for their support service.  I know the good work they do, and I also know how hard it is to get funds to carry out these tasks,” Jon said.

“So, what does the total stand at now?” Karen said.

“Well, as of this morning, not counting the six million we already have guaranteed, we have raised just over £5 million,” Tom said.

“So, how much do you need to raise?” Karen said.

“Well, to be honest, we have already passed our original goal,” Jon said.

“Will all the money you raise go to the royal British Legion, or to other charities, as well?” Karen asked.

“No, all the money raised on this walk is going directly to the Royal British Legion,” Tom said.

The next morning

Headed down south, the collection buckets were soon getting full, as the group passed through villages and towns, on route to Hull. The group arrived at their overnight stop in Hull, to a warm welcome.

The team were met by the BBC News crew again, and Henry South was waiting.

He walked over to Gareth and said, “how’s it been today?”

“Well, it’s been gruelling, to be honest, in this rain. But nothing a warm shower and sleep won’t change,” Gareth replied.

“You are one of the serving soldiers doing this walk. What do you think of the injured guys?” Henry asked.

“I have a hell of a lot of respect for them, to be honest. I doubt if I was badly injured, like these guys, I would undertake this walk,” Gareth replied.

Henry smiled and said, “thank you, Gareth.”

Henry then found Jon and said, “how have you found these conditions today?”

“Well, I have been out in worse, but it would have been nice if the rain would stop,” Jon said smiling.

Henry kept noticing the tight khaki trouser Gareth had on, hugged a tight arse, and he felt his cock spring up a few times. Henry looked into the camera and said, “well, the coast to coast walkers have made it to Hull, and tomorrow they go across country and will finish at Cheedam barracks. This is Henry South, reporting for BBC News, with the coast to coast walkers in Hull.”

Gareth had actually spotted Henry looking at his arse a couple of times, and decided to see if he had misread the signs.

Gareth grabbed a pair of trackies, from his kit bag, and started to drop his trousers. Henry noticed and watched,, as the khaki trousers went down, revealing a pair of tight white boxer shorts.

Gareth saw Henry watching and knew he hadn’t misread the signs.

Gareth saw Henry headed towards the bar in the hotel, where the group were staying. Gareth isn’t allowed to drink, while on the walk, but followed Henry. Henry was sat at the bar and Gareth walked over and sat down on the stool next to Henry and said, “hey sexy.”

Henry looked at Gareth and said, “what?”

Gareth laughed and said, “room 3 in 5, if you want it,” and walked away.

Henry couldn’t  believe it, but drunk his orange juice and headed off to room 3. He nervously walked to the door and tried the handle. The door opened, and Henry walked through the door to see the young solider lying on the bed, stark naked. Henry went “wow,” and closed the door and locked it. He quickly stripped his clothes, and walked over and grabbed Gareth and kissed him passionately.

Gareth then moved down Henry’s smooth body, and started to suck on his nipples. Henry moaned loudly, as the sexy soldier sucked more and more.  Gareth moved down further, and slowly took hold of Henry’s 6 ½ inch uncut cock into his hand, and started to wank it. Gareth smiled, as Henry moaned. Gareth then went down, and started to run his tongue over the head of Henry’s cock. Gareth started to suck on Henry’s hardening cock. Henry was moaning loudly, as he felt Gareth suck his cock.

Gareth was soon deep throating Henry’s cock, as Henry moaned louder and louder. Henry screamed “fuck!” as his cock throbbed, and he sent load after load of his cum into Gareth’s ready mouth.

Gareth then lifted Henrys legs up over his head, and started to slowly run his tongue up and down Henry’s arse. Henry groaned, as he felt the hot tongue slowly push his arse apart. Gareth pushed his middle finger into Henry’s arse, as Henry groaned loudly. Gareth soon had three fingers in Henry’s tight arse, as Henry was groaning. Gareth smiled, and lined his now rock hard 7 inch uncut cock up, and slowly pushed into the hole. Henry shouted, “oh!” as he felt Gareth’s cock push into his arse. Gareth was soon pushing his cock in and out of Henry’s arse. Henry was groaning and moaning louder and louder.

Henry’s cock was now rock hard, as Gareth fucked him faster and faster. Gareth now had Henry on his knees, leaning over the bed, as he fucked him faster and faster. Henry was moaning, as he felt Gareth fuck him hard. Henry groaned, “fuck!” as his cock throbbed again, sending a huge load of his cum flying over the bed. Gareth groaned and pulled out of Henry, and turned Henry round, just as his cock throbbed, sending a huge load of his cum flying over Henry’s face and hair. Gareth laughed and said, “fuck, that was hot.”

Henry smiled and said, “fuck yeah.”

The two men drifted off to sleep.

 Next morning

Henry woke up early, and looked at his mobile. He saw it was 5am. He quickly got out of bed and grabbed his clothes, and was getting dressed, when Gareth woke.

“Where are you going? Its only 5am?” Gareth asked.

“Sorry, sexy. I have to get a shower and get downstairs by 6. I am on BBC Breakfast this morning,” Henry said.

“Ok, I guess I will see you later then,” Gareth said.

Henry walked over and said, “you bet, sexy,” and kissed Gareth.

An hour later, Henry was ready, dressed in a black suit and a white shirt with a red tie.

“Good morning, and welcome to the overnight stop here in Hull. Later today, the guys will walk across the country, and will end later today at Cheedam Barracks. Today is also the last stage for Jon Dunnet. He hands over to Andrew Thompson, later today, at Cheedam. Jon will rejoin the group, like Lee Thomas, when the group arrives at the Devon-Somerset border, early next week,” Henry said.

“So, what’s the weather like over there?” Julie asked.

“Well, it looks like the terrible conditions the guys had yesterday, has passsed, thank goodness. I doubt they would want to do another day like that,” Henry said.

“So, is anybody up yet, or are they still in bed?” Julie asked.

“Well, to be honest Julie, the guys are all ready to go, as they will be setting off in about an hour,” Henry said.

Henry spotted Ben and said, “hi Ben, are you looking forward to today’s stage?”

“Yeah, it should be ok. And it will be nice to see some of my old comrades at Cheedam later,” Ben replied.

“Today we will also call in at Coldbrooke Hall, one of the rehabilitation units run by the Royal British Legion, and we will meet some of the injured soldiers. This is all about, and I believe we will also meet up with Lee Thomas, there as well,” Henry said.

“So, it is another busy day then?” Julie asked.

“Yes Julie, and the total raised has now passed £12million. But you can still donate, follow the link at the BBC website,” Henry said.

“Thank you, Henry. And we will catch you tomorrow. Tell the guys good luck,” Julie said.

“Thanks Julie,” Henry said.

The guys left and the BBC crew headed over to Coldbrooke.

The weather had vastly improved since yesterday, and the team made good progress. They arrived at Coldbrooke house, to a hero’s welcome. Dr Alice Bonner stood outside and welcomed the walkers. She hugged her son and said, “I am so proud of you.”

Greg smiled and said, “thanks, mum.”

Henry looked into the camera and said, “the group arrived at Coldbrooke Hall to a hero’s welcome, and several of the staff and patients met them. There was also a reunion of mother and son, for Greg Bonner. His mum, Dr. Alice Bonner, who has recently been appointed as the head of services, here at Coldbrooke Hall. We speak to her now.”

“Dr. Alice, thank you for speaking to us. What is this place like to work in?” Henry asked.

“It is an inspirational place to work, to be honest,” Alice said.

“When did you start to work here?” asked Henry.

“I started to work here last year, shortly after my husband died. But I had been here a few years before that, when my late husband was an inpatient here, after being injured in Afghanistan,” Alice replied.

“So, your husband was in the Army?” Henry asked.

“Yes, Tim was a sergeant in the Army. He was based for many years at Cheedam barracks.  We later moved to Dundee, when he left the Army, but when he died in a road accident, I moved back down to be near to Tim’s mum and my son Greg, who was in college nearby,” Alice said.

Maurice Baker was standing next to Alice, and Henry asked him, “so Maurice, what do you think of these men who have done this walk?”

Maurice said, “I just wish I could have done it with them, but my fitness isn’t one hundred percent.  I will join them on Wednesday, for the final walk into Lands End.”

Henry smiled and said, “Dr Alice Bonner and Maurice, thank you. The group will leave here in about an hour, and head off to tonight’s stop off at the local Cheedam Barracks. This is Henry South, for BBC News at Coldbrooke Hall.”

Henry found Gareth and the two snuck  away from the group. Henry gave Gareth a kiss and said, “I will see you later, sexy.”

Gareth laughed and said, “you bet, sexy.”

Henry jumped into the BBC van and the crew left, just as the group started off on the final leg of today’s stage.

An hour or so later, the group arrived at Cheedam barracks

The group were met by barracks commander, Colonel Jonathan Harris, and the whole of 4th company were assembled, making a guard of honour along the road into the barracks. Major Andrew Brenton stood in front of his men, and saluted, as the guys walked past.

Henry was there, and looked into the camera again and said, “they, men of 4th company, saluted the men as they arrived and made a guard of honour for them. The men will tonight have a special meal in the officers mess, before staying the night at the barracks. Former Corporal, Andrew Thompson will take over from Jon Dunnet after today, and Jon handed over the baton each injured soldier has carried, on the walk, to Andrew at the gates.

Major Darren Tyler walked over and said, “hi Tom, nice to see you again.”

“Yeah nice to see you too, Darren. Where’s Alex?” Tom asked.

“He is off barracks, big case up at 8th company,” Darren said.

“Oh right,” Tom said.

“He will be back later,” Darren said.

“That’s ok. I will catch him again. I am not staying on barracks, I am going home tonight,” Tom said.

“Yeah, I was informed that,” Darren said.

Tom, and Ben and the boys, left the barracks and headed home to Coninton. They arrived at their house to find devastation. The house had been broken into and vandalised. Ben looked at Tom and said, “fucking hell!”

Tom was crying, when he spotted that the vandals had destroyed a photo he had of him and his parents, with Matt on holiday, when they were younger.

He then spotted something else. A little vase that his late Nan had left to his mum, and Tom had taken with him to Afghanistan, was on the floor, smashed into pieces. This hit Tom badly. He crashed to the floor and said, “bastards!”

Ben walked over to his husband and said, “we need to call the police, babes.”

Tom said, “yeah.”

Tom called the police.

The men walked into the kitchen to see even more damage. There they had smashed the window and smashed up all of Tom’s crockery, which he had on an old welsh dresser. The china wasn’t valuable, but some had sentimental value to Tom. They had also left the water running upstairs, and the ceiling in the kitchen had come down.

Jon and Greg were also disgusted by the state of the house, and the vandalism was really bad. Jon went up to his old bedroom, and spotted that they had wrecked an old games console he had had. It was one of the last things his mum had bought him. Jon broke down and cried. Greg was trying hard to keep his anger in check, but seeing Jon in this state Greg said, “I will fucking kill these idiots if I catch them.”

Jon said, “come here."

Greg walked over and hugged his partner and Jon kissed him and said, “we need to stay calm, babes.”

“Yeah I know babes, but look at the state of this place. They didn’t need to wreck the place,” Greg said.

“I know, babes” Jon said.

The police arrived. The two officers were taken aback at the damage caused, and called in the scenes of crime officers.

Tom phoned his mum and told her what had happened. He also phoned Cheedam barracks to tell Andrew that he won’t be able to join the walk tomorrow, but would rejoin them the next day.

News of the break in got around, and even the news teams were aware of it.

Henry was on the late news and the headline was read out

“Coast to coast walkers hit by break in at their home”

“The group arrived here at Cheedam earlier, to a fantastic welcome. Retired Colonel Tom Rees Andrews and his partner Ben returned to their home, in nearby Coninton this evening to find that their home had been broken into, and heavily vandalised. As a result, Colonel Rees will be missing from tomorrow’s walk. But his partner, Ben will be here for setting off in the morning. As usual, police have appealed for any information. Henry South, reporting with the coast to coast walkers at Cheedam barracks.”

A few days later

Andrew led the men to the Somerset – Devon border, and handed the baton back to Lee Thomas, who will carry it to journeys end at Lands End. Andrew will rejoin the group for the last day, and alongside Jon Dunnet, they will all three walk together into Lands End. Tom had rejoined the group yesterday, but was still reeling from the damage done to their home. Tom’s mum, Lucy was now staying there, while the decorators redecorated the house.

Lee took hold of the baton and shook Andrews hand, and led the guys onward. Tom was feeling exhausted, but knew he would be fine to finish the walk.

The next day

The group reached the Cornish border, and were met by Jon Dunnet and Andrew Thompson. The group arrived a few hours later, to a huge welcome as they arrived at Lands End.

Lady Jayne Dobson was standing there, as Lee, Jon, and Andrew walked through the tape, which had been set up for them.

Lady Jayne walked over and shook the three men’s hands and said, “on behalf of the Royal British Legion, I thank you for doing this.”

Henry stood there and said to the camera, “the coast to coast walk has finally made it to Lands End, and I have had the pleasure to follow this group. Over the last few days, from the start in John o Groats, to its end here in Lands End, now joining me is  one of the main organisers, Lee Thomas.”

“Lee, what do you think of the response to this walk has been?” Henry asked.

“Well, I have been really overwhelmed by the amount of support we have received. I never expected the amount of people, who came out in the villages, towns, and cities we walked through, and it is people like that, that have made us continue. So thank you, everyone,” Lee said.

“Thank you, Lee” Henry said..

“The event was slightly overshadowed, when two of the walkers found that their home had been broken into, while they were on the walk. We now speak to retired Colonel Tom Rees Andrews,” Henry said.

“Tom, it must have been hard to carry on when you saw the mess at your home,” Henry said.

“Absolutely not. I saw the state of the house and wept. It is not the items that were stolen that worries me. To be honest, it was the other stuff that these idiots have wrecked, in particular, there was a photo of myself with my mum and dad, and an old friend who died a few years ago, from when I was younger, that cannot be replaced. But, at no time did I think that I wouldn’t carry on. This walk was way too important to me, to let these idiots win” Tom said.

Henry said, “thank you, Tom.”

“The coast to coast walk has raised over £25million up to now, and money is still coming in. Henry South, reporting for BBC News, at Lands End with the coast to coast walkers,” Henry said.

Gareth walked over to Henry and said, “h,i babes.”

Henry smiled and said, “hey, mate.”

Gareth and Henry walked away towards Henry’s car, and the two young men left Lands End for the nearby hotel the group would be staying in tonight.

A few days later

Tom and Ben were settling back into their newly repaired home. They have now installed an alarm and CCTV systems. The photo was repaired by a local expert and Tom now has it back in pride and place on the mantel piece in the living room. The china sadly was too badly damaged to salvage, so the dresser is now empty. Tom has now decided to see if he can replace some of the stuff that was damaged and stolen. Tom was glad that he had taken his car to Cheedam barracks the day before they set off on the walk, and the keys were with him. Ben’s car was stolen in the break in, and as yet, it hasn’t been recovered. Jon’s car was also at the house, but Jon had taken his keys with him, but they vandalised it instead.

Ben has bought a run around for now, and is hoping that his beloved Jaguar will be found soon.

The whole family has mucked in, getting the house repaired. The men were living at a rented house, nearby, while the house was repaired.

The grand total from the walk came in at £40million, and Lee and all the guys were gobsmacked.

Ben was at home when the phone went, “hello,” Ben replied.

“Hello, this is Detective Constable Steph Reynolds, Ben” Steph replied.

Ben said, “oh, hello what can I do for you?”

“Well, I thought I would let you know, we arrested three men earlier for the break in, and we have recovered a lot of your property and your car,” Steph said.

“Oh, that’s great news,” Ben said.

“Yeah, but of course the property is actually your insurance company’s, if they have paid out,” Steph said.

“Well, that car insurance company hasn’t paid out yet. They were hoping that the car would be found, and gave me a deadline of next month before they will pay out,” Ben said.

“I take it you heard the news on the other case then?” Steph asked.

“Umm no, I knew he was due in court, but to be honest, I have been so busy with the walk and everything, I haven’t kept up to date. Why?” Ben said.

“Well, he was found guilty of all but one charge, and that was one of the sexual charges. He was sentenced to 15 years, Ben” Steph said.

“Well, he deserves that, after what he did to those young men,” Ben said.

“And, what he tried to do to you” Steph said

“Yeah, he really did try hard to ruin my life, but my family and friends kept me going,” Ben said.

“Yeah, that always helps,” Steph said.

“So, what happens with the car now?” Ben asks.

“Well, as long as you can prove that no insurance payout has been made, you can collect it from Coninton police station tomorrow, Ben”  said Steph.

“Ok, I will see you then,” Ben said.

“Yeah, ok Ben,” Steph said.

Matthew has now started his training, and has shocked even Tom, when he was selected from the start to undergo officer training. He is now training at Sandhurst College.

Gareth and Henry are still seeing each other, when they can, and are very much in love with each other. Henry is a regular visitor to Gareth’s flat, when he is home on leave.

Jon has taken the remains of the small vase to a restorer, and was hoping it could be repaired. He knew it meant a lot to Tom, and was determined to at least get it repaired.

Jon arrived at the local restorers shop and went in

“Good morning, young man,” said Will.

“Morning. I was wondering if you had finished the vase, Mr Harrison?” Jon asked.

“Yes, I have managed to put it back together,” Will replied.

“That’s great news,” Jon said.

“You know, this piece isn’t worth a lot of money, don’t you?” Will said.

“Yeah, but it has great sentimental value to my dad,” Jon said.

“Oh ok,” Will said.

“I will go and get it for you,” Will said.

Will fetched the vase and Jon gasped, as you couldn’t tell it had been in pieces a few days earlier. Jon smiled and said. “wow, that looks great.”

“Well, it went back together really well,” Will said.

“So how much do I owe you for the work?” Jon asked.

“Well, to you £70, young man,” Will said.

“That’s fantastic,” Jon said, and handed Will the cash.”

Jon carefully placed the vase into a box, and took it home to Coninton.

Jon arrived at the house before Tom or Ben, and went in and unset the alarm, and went into the lounge. He placed the vase back pride of place on the shelf next to the fireplace. He knew Tom would spot it straight away.

Jon then reset the alarm and went home to his apartment.

Tom arrived home a short while later. He unset the alarm and went into his office. He places his briefcase onto his desk, and then walks out of his office and goes into the lounge. He sits down to read the evening post newspaper, as usual. He looks up and spots the vase. Tom gets up and walks over and picks the vase up. He looks at it he puts it back down, picks his phone up and rings Ben.

Ben had just picked his Jaguar up from the police station, and was driving up the street to the house, when his phone rang. He ignored it until he pulls into the drive and sees it is Tom.

Ben walks into the house and shouts, “why did you phone me?”

Tom walks into the hall and says, “come here.”

“Did you do this?” Tom says, showing Ben the vase.”

“No, wasn’t me. But I think I know who did,” Ben said.

Tom looked at Ben and said, “Jon, I will kill him. It must have cost a fortune to fix it up.”

Ben laughed and said, “he knows how much that vase meant to you.”

Tom smiled and said, “yeah, it was Nan’s.”

Tom phoned Jon.

“Hi Dad,” Jon said.

“Hey son, thank you for the vase,” Tom said.

“Not a problem, dad. I found a great guy to fix it up,” Jon said.

“Must have cost a fair bit though, son?” Tom said.

“Not really, dad. And anyway, it is worth it, just so that you can have your favourite vase back in its rightful place,” Jon said.

“Yeah, it looks like it has never been away,” Tom said.

“Well, hopefully it won’t go anywhere else soon, dad,” Jon said.

“No son, it will stay there from now on,” Tom said.

“Dad, I have to go. I need to go and pick Greg up from the hospital. His car has broke down again,” Jon said.

“Hey son, why doesn’t Greg have Bens Toyota Corolla now? He has his Jaguar back.” Tom said.

“Oh that’s a good idea, dad. I will tell him later,” Jon said.

“Ok son, see you tomorrow, I hope,” Tom said.

“Yeah, I will be round,” Jon said.

A few weeks later

Ben was working at Coldbrooke Hall, when Alice came in and said, “be prepared, Ben. We have five new cases coming in from Selly Oak, later today.”

“Oh, ok. Do we have any details?” Ben asked.

“Well yes, three are amputees and the other two are paralysed. I'm not sure if permanently, though,” Alice said.

“Oh ok, a lot of work then,” Ben said.

“Yes, as always, but we will get through, I am sure. Oh and we have a couple of new recruits starting next week as well,” Alice said.

“Oh really, what departments will get new ones then?” Ben said.

“Yours is getting one, and nursing two, and we have a new doctor, Ben” Alice said.

“Well, that’s good. It will take some of the pressure off you then, Alice,” Ben said.

“Yeah, it will,” Alice said.

Ben was soon in the thick of it, but then he spotted someone he knew. One of the two paralysed soldiers was none other than young Gareth Harrison, who went on the coast to coast walk with him.

Ben walked over and said, “hi Gareth, mate. What happened then?”

“They blew up our carrier. I am one of lucky guys. Two of my mates died, and others have lost limbs,” Gareth said.

“So, what did the doctors say at Selly Oak? Is the paralysis permanent, or temporary?” Ben asked.

“They are not sure, mate, to be honest,” Gareth said.

“Ok, well you are in good hands, mate. We will look after you,” Ben said.

Just then, Henry came running through the doors and straight to Gareth and kissed him and said, “sorry babes, couldn’t get away any earlier.”

Gareth smiled an d said, “that’s ok babes, you are here now.”

Ben smiled and said, “hi Henry, nice to see you again.”

Henry blushed and said, “sorry, Ben. Nice to see you too.”

“So am I to take it you two are an item, then?” Ben said.

“Yeah, we have been together since the walk,” Henry said.

“Well, I knew you two hooked up on the walk, but didn’t know you were still seeing each other,” Ben said.

Gareth asked, “What, you knew?” 

“Well not me actually, but Tom saw you two sharing a kiss,” Ben said.

“Oh shit. And we thought we were discreet,” Henry said smiling.

“Not to worry. Anyway, it’s great to see you two are still together,” Ben said.

Ben soon settled Gareth in, and left Henry there with him.

Ben went to his office and rung Tom.

“Good afternoon, Royal British Legion military support unit,” Jon answered.

“Hi Jon, mate. Is Tom there?” Ben asked.

“No, mate. He is out visiting a client,” Jon replied.

“No worries. I will ring him later. Oh by the way, one of our new patients is Gareth, the young private that did the coast to coast with us,” Ben said.

“Oh no. Is he badly injured, mate?” Jon asked.

“Well, he is paralysed, but at the moment, we are not sure if he will get to walk again,” Ben said.

“That’s sad. He is a nice guy,” Jon said.

“Yeah, he is,” Ben said.

“So, is his shadow, Henry, with him then?” Jon said.

“Yeah, how did you know?” Ben said.

“Well, don’t tell them, but I saw Henry going into the room where Gareth was staying at Cheedam, and let’s put it this way, Gareth was happy to see him,” Jon said.

Ben laughed and said, “and they thought they were discreet.”

“They were, to be honest,” Jon said.

“Anyway mate, I will let you get on,” Ben said.

“Ok, speak soon,” Jon said.

A few days later

Ben arrived at Coldbrooke Hall, and went into his office. He still didn’t know who his department’s new recruit was. Ben was catching up on some paperwork, when Alice knocked on his door.

“Hi Ben, are you busy?” Alice said.

“Umm no, why?” Ben said.

“Well, I want you to meet our two new nurses. Staff nurse, Mark James, and charge nurse, Ian Graham” Alice said.

“Hi. Welcome to Coldbrooke Hall,” Ben said.

“Ben is the head of our physiotherapy department, and you guys will be working alongside his department a lot,” Alice said.

“So, how many physios does the hall have?” Ian asked.

“Well, we have six at the moment, and we have a new one starting later today, so seven now,” Ben said.

“That’s a big physio department. At the hospital I used to work, we only had two,” Mark said.

“Well, to be honest, we need it here,” Ben said.

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Ian said.

“Right guys, let’s get you to your wards” Alice said.

“Nice meeting you guys,” Ben said.

“And you,” Ian said.

“Yeah, see you” Mark said.

A short while later, Alice reappeared, and standing with her was an ex colleague of Ben’s, Richard Porter.

“Well, I never, Richie. Nice to see you, mate” Ben said.

“Yeah, you too mate,” Richie said.

“Alice looked surprised and Ben smiled and said, “Richie and I trained together.”

“Oh, that explains the welcome,” Alice said.

“Anyway, Richard, Ben is your head of department,” Alice said.

“Oh wow, you the boss then?” Richie said.

“Yeah, I am. So look out, no messing around,” Ben said.

“Yeah righ,t” Richie said smiling.

“Ok, let’s get your uniform sorted,” Ben said.

“Come with me,” Ben said.

Richie followed Ben to a nearby store room. Ben said, “so, what size top are you mate?”

“Well I am a small, but I would prefer a medium, to give me some room to breathe,” Richie said.

“Yeah, they can be a bit on the small side. I have to wear a large, and I am a medium normally,” Ben said.

“Ben handed Richie four tops and said, “you have to wear these at all times when you are working.”

“Ok, mate,” Richie said.

“Ok, what size trousers?” Ben said.

“32 waist and normal length,” Richie said.

“Is 32 your normal waist, or are you a 30?” Ben asked.

“32 is my normal. Why?” Richie asked.

“Well, if you want to be able to breathe in your trousers, I suggest you have a size 34, as they are worse than the tops,” Ben said.

“Ok, mate,” Richie said.

Ben handed Richie four pairs of trousers and said, “ok, I leave you to get into uniform.  I will go and sort out your badge. Meet me in my office when you are ready”

“Ok, no problem,” Richie said.

Ben went back into his office and started to fill in Richie’s details into the computer. Then his nearby printer sprung into action, printing out Richie’s details onto a badge. Ben picked up the photo, which Richie had left for him, and put it onto the badge, and then put the badge into a plastic carrier.

Richie walked back in, now dressed in his uniform. Ben said, “that’s better. Now you look like a physiotherapist.”

Richie laughed and said, “yeah.”

“There is your badge. You must keep that on your person at all times, when you are on duty,” Ben said.

“No problem,” Richie said.

“Ok mate, lets go and meet the patients. We have a bit of a celeb for you to meet. First one of the coast to coast guys, Lee Thomas, is here today visiting our out patients clinic,” Ben said.

“I didn’t think he still came here,” Richie said.

“Well, he doesn’t as much as he did, but he still has to have regular checkups at our out patients dept,” Ben said.

“Oh ok,” Richie said.

Ben and Richie walked down the corridor, when they heard someone shouting “HELP!”  Ben realised this was coming from Gareth’s room.

Ben ran and opened the door to see Gareth on the floor. Ben hit the alarm button.

Within seconds, two nurses and Alice came running into Gareth’s room.  Alice said, “what happened?”

“Not sure. Richie and I were walking past and we heard him shouting,” Ben said.

“Gareth, what happened mate?” Ben asked.

“I reached over to pick up my magazine and I fell,” Gareth said.

Ben, Richie, and one of the nurses helped Gareth back to bed, and Ben said, “listen mate, if you need anything, press the bell. Ok?”

“Yes Ben,” Gareth said.

Gareth, I want you to  meet our newest recruit, Richard Porter. Gareth was another of the lads who did the coast to coast, but he got injured afterward.” Ben said.

“Hi. Pleased to meet you, Gareth,” Richie said.

“Yeah, likewise, Richard,” Gareth said.

“Call me Richie. Only my mother calls me Richard,” Richie said.

“Ok,” Gareth said.

 “I am going to take Richie to out patients, and then I will be back to speak to you,” Ben said.

“Ok bos,” Gareth said laughing.

Ben and Richie carried on walking down to outpatients.

Ben said, “here we are Richie, meet Jamie, another one of physios here,”

“Hi mate,” Richie said.

“Hi. Welcome to Coldbrooke,” Jamie said.

“Thanks,” Richie said.

“Jamie, I want Richie to shadow you today,” Ben said.

“No problem mate,” Jamie said.

“Is Lee Thomas here?” Ben asked,

“Yeah, he is in room 2. Why?” Jamie said.

“I want to ask him something,” Ben said.

Ben walked over to room 2, and knocked and walked in, as Kevin was checking Lee’s stump.

“Hi mate,” Lee said.

“Hi Lee. How’s things?” Ben said.

“Fantastic, actually. I am going to be a dad. Diane is pregnant!” Lee said, smiling.

“That’s brilliant, mate. Congratulations,” Ben said.

“Thanks,” Lee said.

“How’s it looking, Kevin?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, it looks a lot better than it did last time,” Kevin said.

“Yeah, I should hope so too,” Ben said.

“Reason I popped in, mate, is do you remember the young private Gareth from the walk?” Ben said.

“Yeah, that was the young blonde that TV guy was after all the time why?” Lee asked.

“Yeah, that’s the one. He is in here, mate,” Ben said.

“Oh hell, what, how bad is he?” lee said.

“Well, he is paralysed, mate. We just had to pick him off the floor, just like a certain person, if I remember right,” Ben said.

“Oh shut up,” Lee said.

“Well, I was wondering if you would pop in and see him, mate,” Ben said.

“Of course I will. What room is he in?” Lee asked.

“Room 6, mate. Oh, and don’t be too surprised if the TV guy is there, because he actually got his man,” Ben said smiling.

“Yeah, I knew that, mate,” Lee said.

“What? Was I the only one who didn’t know?” Ben said.

“No, I don’t think many of the others knew. I knew because I heard them in the next room to me in Hull,” Lee said.

Ben laughed and said, “well, they are still together.”

Lee said, “well, that’s good.”

Ben said, “well, anyway mate, I am off.”

“Ok mate, I will pop in once I am finished here,” Lee said.

“Ok, thanks Lee,” Ben said.

Ben went back to his office and called into Gareth’s room on the way and said, “now, don’t get out of bed unless a nurse or a physio is present. Ok?”

“Ok. I wasn’t actually trying to get out of bed. I was trying to reach my magazine,” Gareth said.

“Yeah, so you said,” Ben replied.

“I have  a meeting planned tomorrow morning, with Doctor Greening from Selly Oak, to discuss your case. We will decided on the best course of action then. Until then, bed rest, but if you want to go and sit in the lounge, ask a nurse to put you in a wheelchair, ok?” Ben said.

“That would be nice,” Gareth said.

“But for now, stay there, because Lee is going to pop in and see you,” Ben said.

“What, you phoned him and told him I was in?” Gareth said.

Ben said, “No, he is here, in outpatients.” 

“Oh ok,” Gareth said.

“Anyway, I will pop back later before I go off duty, mate. Ok?” Ben said.

“Ok Ben,” Gareth said.

A few weeks later

Ben was at home and picked up the mail. He spotted an official looking letter, and saw it was a similar letter to what Tom had had last year. He looked at it and saw it was addressed to him.

Ben opened the letter.

 

Dear Mr Andrews Rees, It is with gracious pleasure that I inform you that you have been nominated to receive an honour in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Should you choose to accept this honour, which would welcome you to become a Member of the Order of British Empire, you will need to return the slip below, to the address above. Your name was nominated for your services to injured soldiers, by the Royal British Legion. Lord Chancellor

 Ben was gobsmacked and shouted to Tom.

Tom came in and said, “what’s going on?”

“Look at this,” handing Tom the letter.

“Oh, that’s great news,” Tom said.

Ben then noticed a similar letter for Tom and said, “hold on” and handed Tom the letter.

Tom opened it and  read it out.

Dear Mr Andrews Rees, It is with gracious pleasure that I inform you that you have been nominated to receive an honour in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Should you choose to accept this honour, which would welcome you to become a Officer of the Order of British Empire, you will need to return the slip below, to the address above. Your name was nominated for your services to injured soldiers, by the Royal British Legion. Lord Chancellor

“Oh shit,” Tom said.

“This has to be to do with the coast to coast, babes,” Ben said.

“Yeah, it does. I wonder if anyone else has had a letter?” Tom said/

“Who knows?” Ben said

Tom then picked up the phone and said, “let’s find out,” and phoned Jon Dunnet.

Jon answered the phone and said, “hello.”

“Hi Jon, have you had your post this morning?” Tom asked.

“It has just come, why?” Jon asked.

“Have you got an official looking letter, mate?” Tom asked.

“Wait, I have a look,” Jon said.

Jon went to the door and picked up the mail and saw the letter he opened it and walked back to the phone and said “oh, fuck a MBE!” Jon said.

“Yeah, looks like all the coast to coast walkers have been nominated. I have an OBE because I already had a MBE,” Tom said.

Ben came back and said, “Lee has one as well.”

Tom's mobile buzzed and he looked at it and saw it was from Andrew Thompson. He looked at the text and said, “yeah, Andrew has one as well.”

Soon the whole group had all found out that not just Ben, Tom, Andrew, and Jon Dunnet had been nominated, but all members of the group, including Jon and Greg and Rhys and Shaun and Matthew and Gareth and his fellow soldiers were to receive MBE’s. Tom and Lee were the only ones to receive an OBE.

A couple of weeks later, and the news broke as the New Year’s honours list was announced.

The evening post carried the headline  

COAST TO COAST WALKERS HONOURED

All eighteen men are to receive honours with the main organiser, Lee Thomas and Colonel Thomas Rees Andrews receiving OBE’s, and the remaining 16 will receive MBE’s.