His smile slid quickly from his face at the sight of two little blondes leaning against the peeling red door of his apartment. From the end of the hall he raced quickly towards them.

"What are you guys doing here?"

He panted angrily, running his hands through his blonde hair.

"Where is Lauren?!"

His little sister stared up at him, guilt and fear pulsating from her hazel eyes. Sam instantly knew where to quickly lay the blame.

"She doesn't know you're here, does she?"

The twins were yet to speak, another sign of their obvious guilt and Sam wanted to scream. Couldn't they just do what they were told for once? He swallowed hard and closed his eyes, trying to not let his siblings face the brunt of his exhaustion. He pulled out his keys from his Sloppy Joe and shoved it into the lock.

"Inside now!"

The twins followed him in wordlessly, having the smarts to remain quiet and lowered their heads. He gestured to the worn couch and they sat down. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, that shower he'd been excited for wasn't going to be a reality for a while. Sam stared down at his siblings, trying to coming across as intimidating. He didn't want to snap, he really didn't want to snap but he could feel it rising in his chest. This was happening way too often to be ok.

"Stacey, what's going on?"

Stacey met his eyes and he saw the defiance glowing behind them. She was so much like their father it was almost torture. A little girl with big plans, who did what she wanted consequences damned. Unlike their father she had the luxury of being eight. Instead of heroin it was extra cookies and instead of 25 years in prison it was after school detention. Still Sam was very aware that she wouldn't be eight forever, and tonight was just another example of how her risk taking behaviour could get her in serious trouble. Real trouble.

"I hate it at Lauren's. She makes us do homework, she makes us go to bed…we can't even watch our favourite shows!"

"I make you do all that too Stacey. That's no excuse! If you had been here tonight, it would have been the same. You know the routine!"

"I want to be with you!"

Sam scoffed and rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wished that Stacey would just grow up already. She made it out that he chose to work long hours and crawl back into bed at three in the morning. Didn't she realise that all he wanted in the world was to spend the evening with them? He'd choose the Disney channel and maths homework over the shit he had to go through to keep the roof over their heads. Of course she'd never be able to see that and he didn't ever want her to know that feeling. Sam was doing everything in his power to stop them both from experiencing the struggle.

Sam's eyes shifted to his brother, and he sighed

"And what about you Stevie? How could you let your sister roam around at two in the morning? You know how dangerous this neighbourhood is! Anything could have happened!"

Stevie looked up with cold eyes. It was expression that Sam was very much familiar with. Some days it chilled him, but at this moment he couldn't register it.

"I was protecting her!"

Stevie snapped and Sam believed him. He pulled out his mobile from his pocket and handed it to Stacey.

"You know the drill"

He was too tired to be an authority figure any more. He guessed it was that he relented ever time that made them think it was ok to run away from their babysitters home. He was going to have to see if Lauren was able to just stay here. It was a big ask, but what where his other options? Short of tying them up he was running out of ideas.

"I'm having a shower and when I come out, I want you to have talked to Lauren and be in bed. If I see even one eye cracked open I think I'll lose it"

Sam wasn't even sure if he was joking.

S&M

Showering was the favourite part of his day. No matter how tired he was from work he'd always find the energy. The hot water scolded his skin and the women's hands quickly became a distant memory that he could sometimes pretend hadn't even happened. He washed his hair and scrub any traces of them from his blonde locks. Everyone seemed to love to run their fingers through it…tug it, pull it, stroke it… they did it all. For that hour they owned him but here in his too small shower he washed them out. This was the only time he allowed himself to really think about what he did. How it had started at simply stripping just to pay a few more bills, then his Mum died and he inherited debt and two five year olds. He needed more, so he had to give a bit more. 'This is only temporary' was his mantra but three years on he wondered why he still kidding himself.

If anyone asked, he was a bar tender for an out of town pub. Not that many people did and they only people he really talked to these days were paying him for his time, so it's not like he could lie to them anyway. Lauren was a woman in the building and Sam was convinced that she knew. She had a little girl in the year below the twins and had no partner. She herself was only a few years older than Sam and had the kind of eyes that told him that there was more to her story. Lauren wasn't giving up any information though, and Sam didn't expect her too. Redwin Apartments was smack bamn in the middle of Liam Heights adjacent. Everyone that lived there had a secret or a history to guard.

He turned off the tap and wrapped a towel around his waist. He caught sight of his back in the reflection of the mirror and his bad mood worsened. She had been a scratcher and he was surprised that he couldn't feel the stinging. How was he supposed to make the next woman feel good if he was covered in evidence of what he was? He shook his head that was a concern for tomorrow.

He stepped out of the bathroom, glad to find the apartment empty. He wasn't in the mood to fight Stacey if she was in the mood for round two. Her tears would be the death of him right now. He walked over to the bedroom and pushed the ajared door open a little bit more. They were both asleep, or doing a good job of pretending on their double bed. It was pushed against one wall to allow more room for their things and Sam scratched his head as he took in the duvet they were sharing. That was going to have to be his next project he decided. It'd be a long time till he could afford a place with enough room for them to have their own bedroom, but a bed each was something he thought he could handle.

He pulled the door back and made his way to the kitchenette to retrieve his phone. Checking the call log, to make sure Stacey had made he promised call he turned on his alarm for to wake him up in three and half hour's time. With their night time adventure he knew the school run was going to be more painful than usual. He hung his towel over one of their dining chairs and pulled out a pair of boxers out of a plastic box beside the tv. Slipping them on, he finally made his way to the lounge and pulled out his bed. He crawled onto it and fell asleep almost instantly, forgetting to feel uncomfortable on the hard coil springs.

S&M

Blaine was a good guy. Sam often thought that if he had a normal job and was a normal guy they would probably have been friends. Being a good guy didn't stop him from being an arse of a boss though. He'd given Sam his first job reluctantly and taught him how to not be so tacky when he danced. Blaine pretended not to be aware of the 'off the table' services the club offered but kept tabs on the whole operation very closely.

Sam rubbed his eyes tiredly before knocking softly on the office door and let himself in, Blaine looked up from his computer.

"Sam, sit down. This won't take long"

Sam nodded and slouched in the offered chair. He knew it annoyed Blaine when he lazed like that, but he was too tired to pretend that people like them could be proper.

"Sam, I want you to take time off"

Sam laughed, it wasn't the first time Blaine had made the suggestion. He began to stand but Blaine glared at him.

"I'm being serious. You are taking on too much. I glance at your schedule. Seriously Sam? You're taking bookings for nine o'clock in the morning?"

"I'm good, so what"

"So I think this side business of yours is getting in the way of your commitments to Stallionz"

"I give Stallionz one hundred percent every night"

Blaine appeared to soften at Sam's sincerity

"I just think you should take some time off. I'm only talking a week….I'm worried…."

"I need the money Blaine"

Blaine sat back in his seat

"One week. You'll live through one week"

Sam glared back at his boss.

"One week. That's it"

S&M

Sam pulled up at the small home, double checking the address against the one pencilled in his diary. Sighing, he opened his car door and began up the small path to the front door. He was exhausted and not really sure how he was going to get through this hour and a half. Blaine was right, he was burning the candle from both ends and it was starting to reflect in his work. He knew the kids were going to love it. Lauren was probably going to be cheering as well. Sam wondered if maybe he should pull them out of school one day and do something special, he couldn't never be sure when his next holiday will be.

"White Chocolate?"

"Actually, I kind of prefer Sam"