Dodger

It won't be the first time we've seen Don drunk but it may be the last! While Rebecca has been instilling confidence in Rory, Jo has been doing the same with Robbie. Using different means, of course, but to the benefit of both boys. I hope. This image may be a little difficult even for Don's warped brain to picture. Hmmm..... Interesting. Maybe that's where he goes to late at night. Daniel because they share a room, Nicola because she likes to embarrass him and finds it funny, and Sue and Don from when he was a baby, although he would have changed quite a bit since then.

I like distinct seasons and I enjoy the changes and challenges that each one brings. Even now, at the end of summer I'm looking forward to the winter. Crazy, considering I know what it will bring, but I wouldn't want to live in a place with little or no variation in climate.

“You're his worst nightmare,” said Jo. “A gay son who he can’t control. Someone he believes is turning his family against him and undermining his authority. You represent everything he loathes and fears. No wonder he hates you, sweetie. No offence, but in his eyes, your arrival was nothing short of a disaster and one he could never have predicted. I wonder if he would have been so eager to bring you over here if he had known beforehand you were gay.” “I doubt it. He probably would’ve made up

Of course I'm going to read on, Tim. So we know from the first chapter, there is more to this boy than meets the eye. Stravor's master wants him killed because he will be a future threat to him. "You have the worst in your possession. He who will become. The boy." In this chapter we find out the boy has the ability to communicate without talking, but he's not yet aware of this. It opens up a lot of possibilities. Stravor is basically a good man and I don't think he will be capable of completing his task. Maybe by the end he will have a new master? As long as that evil sword gets what it deserves!

Not usually my genre but I'm glad I started reading this. For me, the detailed description at the beginning was perfect and enough to capture my imagination. I am intrigued by Stavor, but also wary of him. Like the townsfolk, I would give the searcher a wide berth and keep well away from that evil sword. His father's words offered an explanation and perhaps some hope for the boy. I have to believe Stavor will be influenced by them enough to question his allegiance to Hemothracene. I didn't want the chapter to end, Tim. Even though I knew chapters two and three were already posted!

Hello Gary Yeah, I've had a busy summer so far. Hardly any free time to check on the pool activity next door. Probably just as well!

Hey Clo. I'm good. I've been away at my sister's cottage in north east Ontario. It's quite isolated, so plenty of swimming, hiking, and a few beers. In that order, of course. Now I need a few days off to rest.

Hello Bucket. Hope all is good in your part of the world.

Good morning, afternoon, evening. I hope you're all well and active.

Ouch! That sounds painful, but I guess that's what you get after 123 chapters of being a paranoid asshole. I'm impressed that you managed to read it twice. That takes some doing. The next chapter will be posted this weekend. Thank you so much for reading and commenting.

Hope you enjoyed your 3 month camping trip. Robbie could find himself in the middle of a bitter family dispute if he's not careful. It's likely that Don will see him as the catalyst for everything that has gone wrong and try to blame him for his failing marriage, and for turning his kids against him. If the drugs were planted by Don, then this surely has to be the actions of a desperate man who is prepared to set up Robbie rather than question his own crazy beliefs. I don't think he expected Sue to oppose him, but it would have been difficult for her not to, especially knowing Robbie's mental issues. She has already blamed herself for Robbie's condition and promised him things will change. It's a promise she has to keep.

This is so true. I'd like to say this was intended to highlight what people say without thinking, but I have to admit, I wrote it without thinking of what it meant, so I'm probably just as bad. You're quite right though, other than defend himself, the only thing Robbie has done to get under Don's skin was to be himself.

Thanks @daveymars I will look into this program. it sounds interesting. I'm not sure how many hockey playing doctors there are out there. Sounds like it could be a conflict of interest, but at least he would be able to administer first aid to the guy he's just slammed head first into the boards. He's sure to be an improvement on Don though. Don is in for a few surprises but Sue and the principal? Probably not a good idea. Nicola could do with meeting someone like Robbie who would allow her to take control. The good citizens of Yellow Knife don't deserve Don, they have their own grizzlies to put up with. Now that's a little far-fetched. No way would Don fit into the back of a Ford Festiva!

Don is, of course, the trustee for Robbie's trust fund which includes his mother's apartment in London which will likely double in value by the time Robbie reaches eighteen. However, Don's role is strictly limited to overseeing the fund. He's not allowed to make any withdrawals unless in the case of an extreme emergency with Robbie as the beneficiary. For example, if a serious health issue required him to be flown to the US for private treatment at the cost of many thousands of dollars. Don would be allowed to access the money, sell the property etc. to pay for the treatment. Other than that he would have to pay for any habit he may have out of his own pocket. This would have all changed, of course, if Robbie had decided to jump off the end of the pier. In which case, Don would have received the bulk of the funds plus the apartment. I'm not suggesting this was his plan, but he would have benefited substantially from Robbie's demise, and it would have been made a lot easier by the adoption.

There are a couple of secrets from the past waiting to be revealed which may answer some of these questions.

Sounds good but I can't see Don coming back from wherever he is to check the Christmas lights and it wouldn't be fair to ask an innocent truck/bus driver to kill him off either. If Don's going to leave us, I expect it will be as a result of his own excesses or paranoia, but as we all know, only the good die young.

Nicola, Daniel, and Amy are all decent kids, but they haven't had to deal with Don's homophobia. This is a new experience for all the family although Daniel saw some of it with his dad's treatment of his friend Nathan. Up until Robbie outed himself, Don's family had turned out pretty much as he wanted them to so he had no complaints. He was the breadwinner, head of the house, and disciplinarian. He is a control freak but his job and extra marital affairs kept him away from the house for long periods. Prior to Robbie coming out, Don wasn't a particularly bad parent. Perhaps being an absent parent was his worst crime, but his job paid for everyone's comfortable lifestyle, their big house,, designer clothes, and generous allowances. His kids never went without and all they had to do in return was keep him happy by saying the right things. Robbie would have had the same easy going life had he kept within the rules and dated girls like Fran. Being gay was unacceptable for Don, and that's where things started to go off the rails. Nicola, Daniel, and Amy were spared their father's worst traits because they were born straight and fitted in with warped ideology. I don't think Robbie would have seen his next birthday if Don and Mr Symmonds had been left in charge of his therapy, maybe not even Christmas. Jo was the right person to help him, she's good at her job, and did exactly what she's paid to do. Thanks @tesao

So many neat variations. I can understand the attraction. I'm going to get the Prismatic Pride.

Poor Conner has been waiting patiently in the wings, but obviously he won't wait forever and he deserves an explanation from Robbie, who may have to tell his story once again. He will need to explain to Conner before he hears it from someone else as this secret may soon get out and likely spread like wildfire. I think Conner will be supportive. Thanks for your kind words, @Scary

Okay, where to start. You have made some excellent points. We will have to see if Sue demands a drug test but Don was oddly quiet when it was mentioned. If he was convinced Robbie was using the drug then I would have thought he would have insisted on this straight away. I'm not sure how long this drug stays is detectable but I don't imagine it's that long so a test would have to be carried out as soon as possible. I think Sue knows Robbie well enough to have noticed any of the behavioral changes associated with cocaine, which is why she's convinced he's telling the truth. Daniel, as you mention was pretty convincing as the innocent kid. You're quite right to point out that Robbie hasn't always been repulsed by the thought of sex with Daniel. Bearing in mind they were strangers when he first moved in and roughly the same age. Sexual urges don't always follow the rules, and Robbie admits to enjoying a few sneaky peaks at his brother, particularly in the early days. This, however, was only a fantasy and I doubt he would ever have crossed the line for real. During the course of the year as they gradually formed a more brotherly relationship this interest faded away and Robbie would be correct now to claim that the idea of sex with his brother creeped him out. Of course, it would be almost impossible to explain all this without Daniel getting the wrong idea, so he was right to distance himself completely from Don's accusations.

I've had some fun with this one @droughtquake, but the answer is a definite no. The reason why I'm so certain is because prior to today, I had never watched an episode of the show. I would have been in England when it was broadcast, and although I'm sure it would have been shown on one of the channels I didn't watch a lot of television over there, or have any of the satellite channels. I've been watching clips today on YouTube, and can see the obvious similarities. Don Draper is a lot more successful and from what I've seen more likeable. I'm not sure, however, if either of these characters are addicted to drugs.

The biggest problem I tend to have with the Cockney Canuck is remembering what's already been written in previous chapters. I was certain I had used the allergic to violence joke in an earlier chapter, so I nearly left it out. Then I thought, who cares, it's a joke and he's bound to use it more than once. The cigarette in the back yard would be a bigger problem as Don is supposed to be a non-smoker. It's more likely to be Nicola or Alex, but I honestly can't remember. This is where 123 chapters start to work against me, but will anyone seriously bother to check? In which case I guess it can work in my favor sometimes as well.

I hope it's not one of those big onions but you're right about the erratic behavior. If Jo is right then, of course, he will be desperate to conceal it.

Judging by the way he has described Jo, Don probably believes he has the measure of her. We know different and he could be in for a big shock if he underestimates her. He must already know that Jo works for the county and was brought in at the request of the school or surely he would have stopped Robbie from seeing her. This will be a major embarrassment for him if word gets out. It kind of destroys the happy family image he's been desperate to portray.

If Don was behind this and he's trying to frame Robbie, then it wasn't a well-thought out plan and smacks of desperation. Now he can no longer count on the support of his once subservient wife he may become dangerous as you point out. You hit the nail on the head with your comment on the previous chapter about blaming Robbie for hos downfall.