The Age of The Masrui

“If that’s the one you want, we’ll make reservations for tonight.” Karsi nodded as she kissed the top of her head.

---

“The alarms - and security watch the cctv round the clock Marlowe. There’s nobody in the house. You sure it wasn’t the baby just throwing her bottle out the crib? You know what she’s like in the middle of the night when she doesn’t want anything touching her.”

---

“Doesn’t your dad have whisky in? Your mum drinks it too.” Grayson hummed as he moved to stand, tripping over the rug.

---

“I’m fine. You know what mums like.” Rhys grinned, pressing another deep kiss to her lips before heading off

"Can you go and check anyway?" She asked, reaching her hand over to grab his arm with a iron like grip. "P-Please? Better safe than sorry, right?"

---

"If you want to risk getting caught stealing there's then go ahead, they'll notice though and it is hard to water down whisky to keep it looking at the same level." Sienna shrugged, drinking the cider straight from the plastic bottle as she leant back against the wall. "You get caught and its your funeral."

---

Cleo watched him go with a warm smile before heading toward her seat, sitting down on the edge eagerly.

---

"What if something comes up though?"

“Unless someone dies or is gravely injured then you are priority tonight.” Karsi promised.

---

Maddox sighed deeply, “Fine, fine. I’ll go check.” He rose from the bed, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he left the room and padded down the hall.

---

“Both Esme and Lux are down for a nap.” Serena grinned as she came down the stairs in her sisters home, carrying the baby monitor in her hand before setting it on the side, grabbing a bottle of wine and some glasses from the kitchen and heading in to be with her family.

Bella nodded, anxiously wringing her hands as she turned the tv on to watch. Sitting on the edge of her seat for the first few laps, despite Rhys being clear in the lead.

"You've not missed much, Rhys is in the lead - as he always is. This is going to be a walk in the park for him." Ronan chuckled, leant back against the sofa as he watched the television. "Bells, lean back; relax you are going to make yourself ill."

"We'll be getting through more than one bottle of that wine tonight," Dorian mused, reaching a hand out to take some of the glasses off of her.

---

"I- Okay..."

---

"Oh god, I need to-" Sienna grimaced, putting the bottle of cider down and pushing her way out of her bedroom. Not having the chance to acknowledge her father as she shoved her way past him and put her head over the toilet.

“Sienna!” Maddox hissed when she raced past him. “What are you - “ he started before looking into her room when he heard Grayson laugh quietly. “For fuck sake.” He hissed when he smelled the alcohol.

“Hi uncle Mads. Fancy seeing you here.” Grayson grinned.

---

“You know I hate these things.” Bella murmured, declining when Serena passed her over one of the glasses once it was full.

Serena shrugged, passing one over to Ronan then. “Champagne later? Me and Dorian brought a bottle.” She beamed.

---

“We’re sorry we’ve been busy lately Tensi, we’ve just been trying to do the best we can by other people... you’ve not been forgotten. We’ll make it up.”

"Oh shut the fuck up Gray, at least I know how to lift my feet up enough to walk over a carpet withou-" She yelled over her shoulder, though cut off as she threw up once again.

"What is going on?" Marlowe frowned as she wandered into the hallway. "See, what is-" She wrinkled her nose when she too caught a wiff of the alcohol.

---

Ronan took the glass, downing half of it in one go. "I don't know why, he is a safe driver - probably safer on the track where they have all had training than on the roads."

"I doubt your helping her." Dorian chuckled.

---

"We'll see." Tesni whispered doubtfully.

“Think of all the kids that are sleeping in a warm bed tonight, without anyone harassing them. Not having awful foster parents being horrific to them - and they’re all sleeping in rooms that you helped design!” Karsi smoothed her hair down gently. “You’ve been such a help to us - letting us know what these kids would need. This is as much your project as it is ours and you’ve done so well. I know it’s been tough but now we have reached capacity we’ve agreed to step back for a bit and just let the guidance counsellors that we hired - that you helped us hire by telling us if they have ‘good vibes’ or not - and we’ll just check up every now and then.”

---

“I mean how many kids his age can you give the cars he’s had without them wrecking them? His father and uncles - on both sides - have wrecked near enough a millions worth and Rhys hasn’t. He’s good, you raised him well. He knows what he’s doing. Have some wine and chill out.” Serena offered her the glass again, rolling her eyes when Bella just shook her head, going for the water she already had.

---

“You two are blind drunk. What of mine did you take?” Maddox seethed. “I swear to god Sienna if you wake the baby or your brothers you’ll be grounded for a month!”

“We didn’t take nothing...”

"Taken anything? No, no... Madison wiggled the pills in front of my face but I neve-" Sienna began, getting to her feet and splashing her face with water as she stumbled out of the bathroom. Eyes widening in horror when she realised what she had said, looking over at Grayson with a panicked look.

Marlowe crossed her arms over her chest, moving her gaze away from Grayson to look at her daughter. "What on earth are you wearing?"

---

"Leave her be worried, let's just enjoy the race." Ronan mumbled dismissively then, grabbing the remote and turning the sound up so he could focus.

---

"Vibes are important."

“They are, and you’re a good judge of character. Be proud of yourself for what you’ve helped do for those kids. Tonight is as much a celebration for you as it is making it up to you.”

---

“See! See!” Serena grinned just as Rhys was closing on his final lap, still at the forefront, pushing her sisters shoulder in jest.

“Whatever, I’m allowed to be worried. “ Bella rolled her eyes, though had relaxed considerably, turning her attention towards the tv with a grin just in time to watch Rhys cross the finish line the winner - and then another car slam into him from the back, sending his own car turning over and over and over down the track.

---

“Where the fuck have you been and what the fuck have you been up to?!”

“Erm, it was this party on - I don’t know. Somewhere. It was good though! And safe! Very safe! No - nothing inappropriate uncle Mads, aunt Marls!”

'A- A celebration? Really?"

---

"Yes, well done Rhys! We knew he coul...." Ronan began to celebrate, though the sentence faded off and his eyes widened as he witnessed the crash. The wine glass breaking in his hand at the pressure he had suddenly gripped on it.

"Oh my god..." Dorian frowned.

---

"Rhys!" Cleo yelled out, getting to her feet and going to sprint onto the track only to be held back by marshalls. When the other cars had come to a stop, she managed to break free of their grip and sprinted to the car as fast as she could.

---

"All perfectly safe; uh huh. There was a guest list and everything so you can track who was there and who wasn't if you want to do background checks. All hunky dory, safe and- it wasn't even a party was it? More a small intimate gathering."

"Your mother is getting informed." Marlowe told Grayson with a frown before glaring at Sienna. "And you - you know better than this Sienna."

“You can’t just sneak out and go off to parties Sienna! You know - “ Maddox started, though cut off when he heard crying from down the hall. “You woke up your sister. Nice one Sienna. Nice one.”

---

“Of course. We couldn’t have done it without you - we didn’t know where to start with the house. We had the shell and you filled it with everything that was needed. Without you me and Louis would’ve been clueless, would’ve screwed up.”

---

By the time she would’ve gotten there, Rhys would’ve been dragged out from the car by the attendants, still conscious, though once his helmet had been pulled off it was clear he’d sustained a nasty wound to his forehead, his left leg bent at an awkward angle.

Dane was shortly behind Cleo, running behind her and managing to catch up just as the paramedics got there, urgent though not frantic as the spoke to him and it was clear he was talking back.

---

Bella screamed as soon as the car began to flip, horror on her face. “Rhys! No! No!”

“He’s alive! They’ve pulled him out alive. Bella he’s alive!” Serena assured when she saw the paramedic make an ‘okay’ signal to the team on their way over, the commentators repeating the same thing.

She let out a small sob of relief as soon as she heard Rhys' voice, weaving her way in between the paramedics and reaching down to take a hold of his hand. "Rhys... Rhys, hi. Hi - I - Are you... Hi.." She tripped over words, panicked tears escaping her eyes.

---

"Look after Esme. We're getting ourselves there; now." Ronan shook as he got to his feet and grabbed his mobile from the side; calling the pilot to make them meet them at the jet.

"Yeah, we can watch her for as long as you need - Ronan get the glass out of your hand." Dorian frowned.

---

Tesni smiled brightly at that.

---

Marlowe sighed deeply, shaking her head and going down the hallway to check on their youngest daughter.

"Your the ones yelling, not me!" Sienna began to raise her voice then. "I have to sneak put to go to them because you wouldn't let me would you?! You never let me do anything!"

“There’s a first aid kit on the plane. We can sort it there, don’t worry about us.” Bella got to her feet as she grabbed her jacket, rushing out to the car

“Jesus.” Serena whispered, attention going back to the tv.

---

“I’m okay - I’m okay.” Rhys bit out, screaming when one of the paramedics touched his leg.

“Son! Son!” Dane called as he dropped to Rhys’ other side.

“My leg... I - ah!” Rhys cried out again, a sob ripping out of him then.

---

“You’ve helped us basically foster like nearly twenty kids like you, and think back how great it was being fostered by us, you’ve just given that to all those kids.” Karsi teased, tapping the end of her nose. “We’ve the holiday in a few weeks time, no school either then. Just the five of us and some nice white beaches mm?”

---

“Because you could get hurt! How did you even get back?”

“We might have... I might have drove - “

“Drink driving?! Are you fucking serious Grayson?! You think your dad would be proud of that?! Think your father would be looking down on you proud of you for that?!”

Grayson paled then, sobering up quickly.

"It'll be okay," Cleo attempted to soothe though it came out as a sob herself; leaning over to smooth his hair back - careful of his head injury as she squeezed his hand tightly with her other hand.

---

"Lets go." Ronan hurried, grabbing his car keys and heading out as he spoke down the phone to the pilot. Stressing the urgency.

Dorian frowned.

---

"Hey that isn't fair!" Sienna snapped in defense of her cousin, going as far as pushing Maddox as she stepped between them. "Your not being fair! It was fine, it was a damn party and then we came home! Nothing happened! Nothing!"

---

"Holiday will be nice," Tesni smiled, laughing quietly as she was teased. "Nu uh, I fostered you not the other way around."

"I suppose we can see it that way." Karsi chuckled, pulling her into another hug. "We are sorry, but another few days of us just getting everyone settled and sorted and then it'll be back to normal... this was really important to us. It's what my mom wanted... and you've helped us. We're grateful."

---

"It's damn fair. Drink driving? You both could've been killed, or even worse you could've killed someone else on the road? How many times has this happened? How long have you been doing this? And dont bother lying to me Sienna because I'll be having the CCTV checked of the house."

---

Bella got into the car, taking the keys from him once she saw how bad his hand was and setting off once he was in.

"Poor Rhys... he won but... his leg." Serena grimaced, the off angle clear even from how far back the cameras were.

---

"We're gonna get you help buddy, we're gonna get you straight to a hospital. We'll get you the best care, it'll be okay."

Rhys just groaned, eyes fluttering closed then as a paramedic gently brushed Cleo to the side to give him oxygen, taking his hand and entering a needle to give him painkillers instantly.

Cleo breathed quickly, whining quietly when she was brushed to the side and instantly reaching for the closest familiar face for comfort when she could no longer have physical contact with Rhys. Her hand moving to grip onto Dane's wrist tightly.

---

"I can't look," Dorian cringed, getting to his feet and heading into the kitchen. Grabbing a dust pan and brush to clean up the broken glass.

---

"None of our wine glasses are very strong." Ronan mumbled as he began to pick glass out of his hand.

---

"Your going to check it anyway so why does it matter! Maybe you should fire the stupid security you've asked to follow me thinking I wouldn't know because I manage to slip them to-"

"Wait, wait wait." Marlowe interuppted as she joined them once again. "Lets stop yelling, firstly. Secondly, we haven't asked anyone to follow you See. Not as far as I am aware anyway, Mads?"

"Nobody has been paid to follow you - " Maddox shook his head. "which means someone who shouldn't be has been which means you were in even more danger Sienna! How many times have we had to tell you?!"

---

"He's so careful, this has - how did this happen I - " Bella started, shaking her head as she tried not to sob. "My son, my baby, he'g just lying there he'll be in so much pain."

---

"Poor kid..." Serena sighed softly as she turned the TV off.

---

"Stay awake Rhys! Stay awake!" Dane called, wrapping an arm around Cleo when he noticed Rhy's drifting off, the paramedic slapping his cheeks gently to get him to wake up.

"Stay calm, Bells. Focus on the road, we need to actually get to him, we won't be able to do that if we get in an accident on the way there."

---

"Rhys..."

---

"He'll be fine I'm sure. I watched a documentary once, in their training they are taught the best way to deal with crashes and things too." Dorian frowned. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

---

"No, no. He was dressed like..." Sienna frowned then, eyes widening in horror as she glanced over her shoulder at Grayson. "You spotted him too right, remember? The guy lurking near the car last week."

A few hours later...

"He's out of surgery and awake." The doctor hummed quietly as he entered the waiting room. "Head injuries are minor, mild concussion and a headache but no brain damage, his helmet saw to that. As for the leg... He wont be walking unaided for at least a year. It was horrifically damaged. He'll be in a chair for at least three to four months, can't put any weight on it. After that it'll be rehabilitation and physio therapy whilst using other assistance. His leg is currently in a metal cage to assist with the healing as the damage was quite extensive."

"Can we see him? Please?" Bella asked quietly from where she'd been pacing the room, racing off to find her son as soon as the doctor nodded, not interested in anything else the doctor had to say.

---

"Bella hasn't text me in a few hours. I hope the surgery went well." Serena frowned when Dorian would've come downstairs from settling the children. "I hope it's not a bad sign."

---

Grayson nodded, rubbing the back of his head, still upset by his uncles earlier words.

"Shit. You knew you were being followed and you never said anything?! And you went out alone! Sienna are you stupid?!"

Cleo was leaving the room only a few moments after Bella, following her directly to Rhys room. Though she paused in the doorway once there, not wanting to interrupt any moment that Rhys and Bella needed to have.

---

Ronan fiddled with a bandage around his palm as he listened, sighing deeply when the girls left the room. Asking the doctor a moment later; "What about driving, is he going to be able to do that again eventually?"

---

"No news is good news,"

---

"I thought you'd gotten someone to follow me because you didn't trust me..." Sienna whispered quietly then, glancing between her parents then. "I-"

"Your not going anywhere for one month other than school anyway." Marlowe frowned. "Also the mobile phone neede to be handed in to your father and I by nine thirty every night."

"My phone?! No!"

"Yes, Sienna. For safety and to show you that this behaviour just isn't on."

“He won’t be able to drive himself until his leg is fully healed and he can walk unaided.”

“Fuck, no...” Dane swore. “Are you sure? A year? He’d just qualified he has three months till the next round! You need to get him better before then! Come on doc he’ll be devastated!”

---

Bella leaned over to hug her son as tight as she could, smoothing the hair down off his head and taking his hand before sitting down by him as they chatted. Rhys’ voice still thick with pain, and groggy from the meds.

---

“Did the girls go down okay?”

---

“Sienna anything could’ve happened to you. And you too Grayson. Where has all this come from? Both of you?”

“You’re all too strict to ask so... like Sienna said.”

"There must be ways to accelerate the healing some how; new medicine, new exercises, more surgeries. Anything."

---

Cleo stepped inside after a couple of minutes, humming softly in greeting; "Hi."

---

"Yeah, yeah. They are fine, don't worry."

---

"We're not kids anymore."

“Poor Esme hasn’t spent a night away from them properly yet...”

---

“Hey.” Rhys greeted, living his hand to give her a small wave.

---

“We nearly had to take it off completely. It’s mangled. He’ll probably have a limp when he does start walking again. He’s lucky to still have the leg at all with the rate of how smashed it got.

---

“You are a child! A child who could’ve been hurt!
((Night night))

"I- I'm sorry I don't want to interupt I just had to... had to see you." Cleo frowned, not moving closer. Her gaze mostly on Bella as she spoke, despite her words being directed at Rhys. It clearly being Bella's permission she was seeking out.

---

Ronan just shook his head as he lifted his hand up to rub at the space between his eyes. "Jesus christ."

---

"It'll be a learning experience for her, healthy."

---

"I'm not, I'm fifteen now! You are keep us trapped in our damn rooms like we're rapunzel or something!"

"Okay. Stop - Sienna go to your room, Grayson you know where the spare room is you can stay there tonight. We can all talk more about this tomorrow."

“It’s fine.” Rhys gave her a small smile. “I’m okay, or I will be okay.”

Bella kept hold of his hand, smoothing it down.

---

“This could be career ending and he’s only just started...”

---

“Still legally a child!” Maddox hissed.

Grayson nodded, heading to the spare room without another word.

---

“Let’s just pray her brother comes home in one piece.”