A Matter Of Trust [Brendan, Megan, Debbie]

[logan]

22nd April, 2009

Logan looked up at the mighty Corinthian hotel and casino in front of him. His daughter sure had done well for herself if she was working here, but that's not what he was worried about. That's when he spotted it, the article Brendan Harris had wrote in the newspaper not so long ago in every glass door. And next to it, was even worse news. A large sign saying 'No Smoking' was beaming at him. "Assholes." He muttered, tucking his last cigar behind his ear into his wild hair. Taking a few steps closer, Logan stopped, scratching his sideburns as he saw young girls walking around inside wearing fancy outfits. Having not seen a recent photo of Megan in over ten years, she was bound to look a lot different. He inhaled deeply through his knows, and pushed one of the revolving doors open into the casino.

The sheer size of the place made him raise his eyebrows, she could be anywhere. His little girl, his baby girl. A blonde girl pushed past him holding a tray of drinks, she stopped getting ready to shout and moan but when she saw the strapping guy, she decided otherwise. "Hey there sweetie, can I help ya?" Logan looked around, not finding her at all interesting. "Yeah, I'm lookin' for a girl. Megan Howlett ring a bell?" He looked down at her, eyebrows raised. She seemed to roll her eyes and nodded in the direction of the bar. "She's in there, just finished her shift." With that, the blonde walked off. Logan noticed a loud roar of laughter come from the bar, a woman. Surely not Megan...

As he made his way into the bar, his leather jacket swung casually over his shoulder he noticed how dreadfully packed it was. "For fuc..." Before he could finish the rude mutter, he noticed a giggle. One that made him instantly look up and smile. There she was. It had to be her. Long brown hair, big brown eyes, tanned skin and the biggest smile he had ever seen. "Megan..." He whispered. Was it really her? His little girl? He was about to step forward when a large dirty-blonde guy bumped into him. Logan snarled, looking into the guys blue eyes. "Got a problem bub?"

[brendan]

Brendan was once again at the Corinthian waiting for Megan to finish her shift, like he did every night she was working. He didn't mind waiting on her, after all it was part of what he did being her boyfriend. He was very protective of her, and liked to make sure nobody was giving her bother. Thankfully they hadn't had any bother like they had since that Bunny Boiler. That had been a crazy night. He was so glad that Megan believed him that the other woman was causing all the mischief, he'd have been gutted if he'd lost Megan over that.

He was waiting on Debbie arriving as well, she had said she would meet them tonight, so they could have supper together, it would seem Debbie had taken a bit of a shine to Megan, which had surprised Brendan, because of the age difference between himself and Megan. However, it hadn't seemed to bother Debbie, or, she hadn't picked up on it so far. But what ever it was Brendan was happy about it.

He watched as Megan laughed with her work colleagues, that laugh Brendan loved so much, it lit up Megan's whole face. Brendan loved it, and he loved her. He loved her like he would die without her in his life. In fact he was so completely sure he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, he was wondering if he should start to think about proposing to her. But at the same time, he was scared if he did, he'd chase her away.

He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice that when he went to turn around to see if Debbie had arrived yet, he bumped into someone. The soon as the voice spoke Brendan knew it was a guy talking. Brendan's piercing blue eyes locked with the dark eyes of the guy, "Ain't no problem here Wolfman" Brendan said as he caught the guy's look. And then under his breath he muttered, "Sure looks like yer the one with the problem."

[romz]

"What a day!" Megan said, sitting down at the bar as she stretched her arms above her head. It had been a really long day from 9am to 6pm with only half an hour lunch break. She was exhausted but luckily had the weekend off now so she could relax and have a couple of beers. She looked at the new bartender who was very cute and the same age as her. "So how about a beer?" She asked him, poking her tongue out cheekily. Of course it was harmless flirting, as Megan was completely head over heels for Brendan. And she now knew Debbie would hurt her if she ever hurt Brendan, totally natural of a sister.

As Meg turned around she saw Debbie and grinned. "Deb!" She shouted, standing up and jogging over to her for a hug. Megan had become completely in love with Deb as a sister, she was perfect. Everything about her was amazing. "How was work? Where's that sexy brother of yours?" Meg looked over Debbie's shoulder hopefully, hoping to see her man. But unfortunately he wasn't there. "Come come! Let me introduce you to people!" Megan dragged Debbie over to the bar, showing her off to the guys and gals she worked with. She kept turning behind her, just to check if Brendan was there. She sighed each time, wondering where he was.

Sitting down on the bar stool once more, Megan pulled her shirt further over her shoulders. Well it was one of Brendan's shirts, but it was her favourite and it was so comfortable. She burst out laughing when one of the guys told her a dirty joke, and spat out some of her beer. If it wasn't for Debbie being there, she would have probably been on the floor crying. She grinned wickedly after and turned around once more. This time she saw him, in all his stunning sexyness. She continued to grin, until she saw him stop in front of a man of similar size if not a little bigger. Meg frowned, grabbing her beer bottle and standing up quickly. "Deb..." She said, nudging her friend as the two men confronted each other further. "You think we should go say something?" Meg couldn't see the other guy's face yet, even though she kept catching his eyes as he looked over at her as if he knew her. She felt strange all of a sudden, like she knew him too. "Who is he?"

[debbie]

Debbie had promised to meet Megan with Brendan tonight for when she finished work, so they could all go to supper together. Debbie was glad she got on well with her brother's girlfriend, because it would have made things very difficult for them if she didn't. So far Debbie hadn't really thought about an age difference between her brother and Megan, whether that was because Megan acted older for her age or Debbie possibly acted slightly younger for her age couldn't be determined, but so far the age difference hadn't been approached which was good for the little family unit thing the three of them had going.

Debbie had arrived earlier than Brendan even when she heard Megan flirt she knew it was harmless, because she already knew how much Megan loved her brother. So when Megan greeted her, Debbie grinned, "Hi ya Meg" Debbie said as she came over and hugged her. Debbie of course hugged her right back, it was great to finally have a sister figure in her life. Debbie grinned as Megan asked about her day and where her sexy brother was.

"Ma day was jus' fine darlin' an' am not sure where Brendan is, don' think he's here yet, think I got here first" Debbie replied with a slight wink as she turned along with Megan to see if she could see Brendan but failed. Megan then dragged her off to meet some of her work colleagues. "Sure sweetheart" Debbie replied as she went with Megan and said hi to everybody Megan introduced her to.

Debbie had been so involved in conversation with Megan and her work colleagues she hadn't even been aware when Brendan walked into the Corinthian as well. However, just as Megan noticed Brendan, Debbie did too and wondered what was going on between her brother and the other guy. That was when Megan asked if they should go and say something. "Maybe we should, I know how Brendan can get when he gets annoyed or angry" Debbie replied, and then raised an eyebrow as Megan asked who the guy was Brendan seemed to be having a moment with. "I ain't seen him afore sweetheart, so am not sure" Debbie replied wondering who the guy was herself. Especially if he and Brendan ended up fighting, that would just be embarrassing.

[logan]

Wolfman wasn't anything new to Logan, he had been called much worse things. Even though most of them related to his wild looking appearance. It didn't bother him that much, and he wasn't one to call him a nickname of some sort, he wasn't that childish. But it was when Logan heard the sudden mutter under the other guy's breath that made his turn suddenly. "You think I didn't hear that bub?" Logan shook his head offensively, laughing slightly. His fierce brown eyes looked at the younger man, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Logan was beginning to lose his temper, in front of his daughter too whom he noticed over this guy's shoulder. "Me..." He was about to say her name, when he suddenly found himself being blocked by the man. "Look blondie, I'm not lookin' for a fight." But it was too late, Logan already found his anger level was too high. He pushed him back, using only a fragment of his force. Still enough to force him back a fair bit.

A slight smile appeared on Logan's face, "C'mon then bub. Give me your best shot."

[brendan]

Great, Brendan thought to himself, just what I needed a super hearing arrogant angry man on my tail. Wasn't the events that happened a couple of weeks ago with Bunny Boiler enough? Apparently not as God seemed to be dishing him another bit of trouble in the form of this guy who looked like a wolf. Brendan shrugged his shoulders back, "Ain't ma fault ya got hearin' like a wolf as well as lookin' like one" Brendan replied in a slightly dark voice, but not wanting to actually fight him, Brendan wasn't really much of a fighter unless he was really provoked.

Brendan turned to look at him, "Who am I? Name's Brendan, an' I was here to get ma girlfriend when she finishes her shift" he replied frowning at the guy. Damn this one had issues, Brendan could sense it. He really didn't want to lose it, not like he did before, he'd had to give a cheque for damages then, he didn't want to have to do that again, even if he could easily afford it.

Brendan hadn't meant to block the guy's way, it was just how it happened, because he automatically wanted to protect Megan, even if the guy had no intention of going anywhere near her, his protectiveness of Megan had come out in him as usual. "An' I ain't here fer a fight either trust me, am jus' here fer ma girlfriend" Brendan said in a firm voice, but then the guy pushed him back, not with much force granted, but enough to knock Brendan into the bar counter.

Brendan was being goaded by this guy but he didn't want to fight back, instead he turned and looked him up and down before saying "Wanna try tha' again Lon Channey Junior, don' think ya put yer all into tha' shot." Brendan then just stood and stared at him waiting to see if he was going to react.

[romz]

Megan continued to watch the two men with extreme caution. The wolf-like man was as tall if not taller than Brendan, and he looked much more fierce, as if he wanted to run into trouble or cause it. Yet he seemed strangely familiar, and it confused the hell out of her. Meg nodded when Debbie said they should do something. She had only seen part of Brendan's temper, and she feared it could get much worse, so like Debbie said, they should intervene some how. She looked around for something to distract the other man with, either herself or Brendan, that was until she saw Brendan fly into the bar counter. That was a pretty long way, yet it wasn't done with hardly any force. She gulped loudly, not wanting him to get hurt in any way.

"Deb, I think we need to do something now. Like right now." Megan charged over to the other guy, standing directly in front of him. "Hey you, what right do you have to start trouble for no reason?" The fearless woman had no idea who she was addressing, even though his face was still beginning to play on her mind. Where had she seen him before? It was like she felt she knew him yet she couldn't place his face anywhere. Without thought, she looked up at him with wide brown eyes. "Who are you?"

The fear and confusion in her voice was clear. She didn't know what she was letting herself in for. And with her new ability, she had found she could only adopt one physical ability at a time even though if she adopted the same one twice, she was much better at using it the second time round. Currently she had various kickboxing moves after watching a few matches earlier in the day. "Seriously, I... who..." Meg was confused, she clutched her forehead suddenly, feeling overwhelmed. Who the hell was this guy?

[debbie]

When Megan said that she thought they needed to do something right away, Debbie nodded her head. She knew how Brendan could get, his powers could go crazy when he was overly angry. His powers took on a mind of their own and he'd frozen a lake in seconds flat when he was so angry one day at somebody outside and he caused frost everywhere.

"Yeah, fer sure Megan, I don' like the way this is headin' at all" she replied as she followed Megan over to the bar where her brother and the wolf looking type man were standing more or less sizing each other up. As Megan began to talk to the dark haired guy, Debbie instinctively made her way to Brendan, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Ya calm down ya hear? I know how ya can get when ya get annoyed, don' want a repeat performance of the last time when tha' girl got ya wound up, remember?" she said, not that she didn't think Brendan would forget, but she was hoping her voice, and soothing nature would keep him calm. She didn't want her brother losing it, and more importantly she didn't want the other guy to hurt her brother.

However, as much as she was trying to keep her brother calm, Debbie couldn't help but notice, even if he was older than she was, how damned handsome he looked, and she was finding it incredibly difficult to take her eyes off of him. She didn't know why, or exactly what, but something about him was simply captivating. It was becoming obvious to Debbie however that Megan seemed a little confused.

"Wha's wrong Megan?" she asked her friend, "Are ya alrigh' sweetheart?" she was worried about her friend and the way she had gone over all guns blazing and now seemed to be backing down a little.

[logan]

Logan smiled ever so slightly, and chuckled quietly. "Bub at least I don't look like I'm tryna be twenty, when you gonna lose the surfer gear?" The guy looked like an overaged surfer. It was actually quite amusing. He had heard the darkness in his voice, and didn't like it one bit. Logan could hear all the undertone as well as the voice itself. Annoying as it was, it came in hand at times like these. "Listen surfer, I'm looking for someone. You work here?" He wasn't actually interested, it was highly unlikely this guy knew Megan. And if he did, there would be questions immediately.

"Brendan eh? Well I ain't interested in your name bub. Does your girlfriend work her by any chance, as I said I'm looking for someone." He didn't dare mention her name, incase she was nearby and incase Brendan here was a stalker. There were some crazy bastards out there now. Logan nodded when he said he's not looking for a fight. "Good man," He leant in, raising his eyebrows. "You'd lose anyway." Of course he would. Logan would run circles around him before he could catch him.

When Logan finally pusehd him, he smiled afterward. A twisted sinister smile. Something that frightened the enemy. "Not a chance, don't wanna scare my girl off when I find her." He thought it was normal to call his daughter 'his girl', but that had other meanings nowadays. And then, suddenly there she was, directly in front of him. Her big brown eyes staring up at him angrily. He knew, he knew that was her. Then she asked Logan who he was. "I..." He was speechless. The fearless wolf was speechless. His daughter, his Megan.

The idea that he was suddenly a wimp towards his daughter even frightened him. He felt overwhelmed with fear suddenly. Rejection. Could he handle it? "Megan?" He asked as she clutched her forehead. Then out of nowhere, a beautiful brunette stepped into sight. Logan looked at her blankly for a moment, then back at Megan. He had no time for women at the moment. His little girl was all that mattered. "Megan, I'm... I'm Logan. Your father." He didn't know how she would react, or what she would do or even whether she would believe him. With all his heart Logan prayed she did, he prayed Megan would see her father through the confusion and lies.

[brendan]

Brendan looked down at what he was wearing and then looked at the guy square in the eye again, "Hey, wha's up with wha' am wearin'?" He asked in a dark voice, did it really look that bad? Ah, who cared, Brendan liked what he wore, it was colourful and suited his personality, he didn't need somebody like that guy telling him what he should and shouldn't wear. "Who'd ya think ya are anyway? Gok Wan? If I'd wanted fashion tips I'd have asked ya." He shook his head slightly, this guy was getting somewhat irritating and Brendan was getting annoyed.

"Quit callin' me surfer, an' no I don' work here." Brendan growled slightly. What was it with this place? Did it always come with trouble, he began to wonder. First time he met Megan here there was trouble, then that pathetic brunette, and now this dude. Brendan was beginning to lose his patience slightly, not a good sign, if he lost his cool, then all hell would break loose, and he really didn't want that to happen again, not here anyway.

He just shook his head at the way he spoke to him about his name and not being interested. "Yeah she works here." Brendan said as he looked in the direction of Megan who was still laughing with her colleagues and his sister Debbie, although he didn't want to make it blatantly obvious he was pointing out Megan or his sister for that matter. Brendan laughed a little when he had said that he would lose anyway. Then again the guy didn't know what Brendan was capable of. However, Brendan didn't want a scene.

"Good plan." Brendan replied when the guy said he didn't want to scare his girl, not that Brendan knew who he had been talking about of course. It was just at that point, he saw Megan and Debbie come toward him and the Wolfman guy whom he had been having words with. They looked as if they were worried. Debbie put her hands on Brendan's shoulders and told him to calm down.

"Yeah, yeah, I ain't gonna bust a gut in here again, don' worry alrigh'?" Brendan said as he took Debbie's hands off his shoulders and pulled her round to his side and put his arm loosely across her shoulder. Then watched with interest the scene unfolding between his Megan and this Wolfman. Brendan then took a sip of his drink and when he heard those words 'I'm your father' he couldn't do anything but choke on the sip he had just taken.

"Yer her father?" He said choking, and wiping his mouth, god damn, he had been almost fighting with Megan's father. What if he had went over board, he'd have felt so guilty. Just at that point however, a couple of people came into the casino shouting for them to get out of the way. Brendan turned and saw they had balaclavas over their faces. Oh great thought Brendan, just great.

He immediately pushed Debbie behind him, and then noticed one of them heading toward Megan. Of course Brendan's gut instinct, whether her father was there or not, was to immediately put himself between Megan and harm's way. "Ya stay away from her, ya got it?" He yelled in a dark voice as he pushed Debbie behind Megan and stood in front of them both.

"If we have to go through you to get to them, then fine." The voice behind the mask said, as Brendan felt a sudden sharp pain in his abdomen and gave out a moan of pain before slumping to the ground.

[romz]

Megan didn't know what to say. Her father? Her real father? "Where were you..." She asked helplessly. "When I needed you. Where were you?" She gulped, feeling a lump form in the back of her throat. Then when Debbie spoke to her, she couldn't do anything except shake her head. Meg looked to the side of her when Brendan choked, shaking her head at him as tears formed in her eyes. "But, mom... she said..." Megan suddenly clasped her hands over her mouth, to stop herself from bursting into tears. She knew. She had always known.

Then she saw the men from the corner of her eye, and knew trouble was about to start. Her eyes widened. Megan saw her boyfriend push Debbie behind him immediately. Logan, her father didn't move. He stayed still, looking from the corner of each eye. Megan stepped back as one of them began approaching her. She saw the grey glint of his eyes as he charged towards her now. Debbie was now behind her and she saw the broad shadow of Brendan towering over her. Meg froze up, tears falling down her face.

"Brendan..." She said ever so softly, but then he fell. Slumping towards the floor. "BRENDAN!" She screamed, which is when Logan moved. He turned suddenly, and Megan's breathing began to go out of control and she bent down to see her boyfriend. But before she could, one of the masked men grabbed her wrist and turned her inwards to him, putting a knife to her throat. "Come on then wolfie, come get you pray." The dark voice said.

[debbie]

Debbie was glad when Brendan said that he wouldn't bust a gut in the Corinthian again, because really it was the last thing they needed to go through again. Well she said they, but she wasn't actually there the last time, but she knew how Brendan's powers worked and how they could get out of control. "Well good, keep it tha' way." She said, as she allowed him to remove her hands from his shoulder and move her to the side. She smiled as he put his arm loosely around her, in his typical big brother fashion.

The next thing to happen was finding out that this guy who had been having the slight altercation with her brother was Megan's father. As Debbie looked into his eyes, and then back to Megan, she could see the slight resemblance between them. Debbie actually began to think it was awesome. Not for the fact he and her brother had been fighting of course, but for the fact Megan had her father back in her life. When Brendan almost choked, Debbie just patted his arm with her hand. "Ya weren't to know." She said trying to reassure him.

The next thing happened all so fast. One moment she was standing by Brendan's side with his arm around her shoulder and the next minute she was being pushed behind him as a couple of masked guys came into the casino. "Brendan, be careful." Debbie said in a very shaky voice. Although she knew her words would fall on deaf ears, because she knew Brendan would do anything to protect Megan and of course herself. She wasn't prepared for what happened next though. One of the masked guys said if they had to go through Brendan to get to Megan they would. And that's exactly what they did.

"BRENDAN!" Debbie screamed, as she immediately fell to her knees over her brother. She was touching his face with her hand. "Brendan come on ya gotta come round, come on." She said over and over, as the tears began to fall down her face. She couldn't lose her brother. He was everything to her. Then Debbie watched in horror as one of the masked men grabbed Megan and held a knife to her throat goading Megan's father.

As if that wasn't enough, another one of the masked men, then pulled Debbie to her feet and did the exact same thing with her. "Whose it going to be wolfie?" The guy who held Debbie said in a deep voice, "The one on the right." He said referring to Megan, "Or this pretty little one." He said referring to Debbie. Well the Corinthian was certainly filled with excitement and tough guys.

[logan]

Logan looked up at Brendan, "Yes her father. Did ya hear me stutter bub?" He shook his head, not particularly caring if he replied or not. His dark brown eyes looked back down at his daughter and smiled softly. He heard her speak, ever so quietly. "I... I didn't think you knew. I thought you thought John was your father." He rolled his eyes at his adopted brother's name. How he despised that man. Taking his wife, his daughter... It made his skin crawl. "I'm so sorry Megan, I tried..." Logan too felt the big lump in his throat suddenly appear making it hard to speak. "I wish I was there for you." Then he heard his daughter stutter her words about Maria, her mother. "She thought me and your brother were dead..." Shit, should he have brought Martin up so quickly?

Immediately Logan's senses told him a group of people were coming in. As he turned around, frowning slightly, his senses were right. Thugs. Vindictive bastards with only money on the mind. Logan noticed Brendan immediately push his sister behind him, protecting her however he could. He went to grab Megan, but again Brendan pushed her behind him, leaving the two men to fight the thugs who were suddenly approaching the women.

What happened next was too quick, it was too sudden. Logan looked up to see the man he was just confronting slumping to the floor, with his sister screaming after him. And then his daughter, suddenly taken into one of the thug's arms with a kinfe at her throat. He only lost his temper for a moment, going to charge, until he realised... He would have to use his powers. It was the only way without them hurting Megan. It was that simple, until one of the other guys pulled Brendan's sister up too. Two women, two knives, two thugs.

"See I don't like choosing bub, I'm greedy. I want them both." Logan smiled ever so slightly, it was rather sinister. "Let go of them both now, before I do somethin' I regret." Of course he wouldn't regret it, he had fought in cage fights in Canada with Martin watching since he was a young boy. His eyes flickered to Megan who looked at her father, she was terrified, her breathing getting heavier. "Hold on sweetie." He whispered, making the thug holding her laugh. Logan suddenly looked at him and shook his head. "You better hold on too." In the blink of an eye, the wolfman ran around behind them, grabbing the thug's wrist and tossing the knife to one side. With ease, Logan lifted him up, and threw him into the gang behind him. As they got ready to fire their handguns, Logan shot up and dropkicked the thug holding Brendan's sister, making him fall to the floor. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and realised it was a gunshot wound. "Shit." He muttered, wincing slightly. As they got ready to fire again, he flipped upside down and over them, knocking two of their heads together. "Yeah and stay down scum." When he looked up, he saw his daughter shivering. "Meg?" He called, wondering if she had been hurt.

[brendan]

"No, I didn' hear ya stutter. Damn" Brendan said slowly under his breath, this guy was definitely a bit of an angry sort, and here Brendan thought he was a rough diamond, he had nothing on this guy. Brendan didn't want to say anything else, because he was hoping to have become friends with Megan's family if he had ever met them, not get into their bad books. Brendan just stood back and let father and daughter communicate, or at least try to, the words coming from Megan's mouth weren't exactly too clear or strong, she was obviously very confused, or shocked. Brendan almost choked on his drink again when he heard Megan's father mention a brother. So, not only did he have a disgruntled father to win over, he had a brother too. Jus' great thought Brendan.

Of course it wasn't long after this that the thugs had entered the Corinthian. Brendan being his usual protective self had pushed both Debbie and Megan behind him, and the next thing he had known was getting a sharp pain in his abdomen as the thug stabbed him and then he had fallen to the floor. As Brendan lay on the floor, he could hear the cries of Megan and then Debbie. He felt his sister touch his face, and heard her telling him to come round, but he was in too much pain to move.

He began to flicker his eyes open, and that's when he saw what had happened. The thugs had grabbed both Megan and Debbie and were making Megan's father choose which one he had to save. Fuck this, thought Brendan, as he tried to get energy from somewhere to get up and move and try and help. But as he did so, he watched Wolfman go into action. By the time Brendan had got to his feet, unsteady, but to his feet, it seemed the hard work had been taken care of.

He stumbled over holding his abdomen with one hand to where Debbie was and pulled her tightly to him with his free arm. "Am so glad yer safe, felt hopeless lyin' there unable to do anythin', by the time I got maself up off the floor...." He trailed off, still clutching at his abdomen as his breathing got heavier, the pain was pretty much unbearable.

He then stumbled over in front of Megan's father, while still clutching Debbie to him, "Thanks Logan, fer wha' ya jus' did fer ma sister and Megan, I know Megan should have been yer priority, so I really appreciate it. Don' know wha' I'd do without Debbie." Brendan said in as steady a voice as he could. The pain was really getting to him. Just then the police arrived, somebody must have called them, and they took the thugs away. Then one of the police officer's came over to Brendan.

"You should get that looked at Sir." He said, and Brendan gave him a weak smile, "I will, soon as I know ma girlfriend and sister are safe."

"Very well Sir." The police officer said and then he left, leaving Brendan alone with Debbie, Megan and Logan. Brendan looked at Megan and gave her a pained smile, "Ya know Sweet Cheeks, I reckon ya should find somewhere else to work, this is the second time I been damned hurt in here." He was just messing with her of course, and he began to laugh, but the laughter wasn't a good thing, as it just hurt him, he clutched at his abdomen again. "Best I get this sorted, wha' ya reckon?" He asked looking from Megan to Debbie before he could feel himself beginning to slump again.