Dodger

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

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.

I don't think Sue had much choice other than to stick up for Robbie as she could see no physical signs of drug abuse and no evidence to suggest he was lying. If Don was behind this, then these are desperate measures from a man who is looking increasingly unstable. If anyone needs therapy it's Don.

Robbie could have done with meeting Jo earlier, she may have saved him from the adoption, but his life wouldn't have been a lot better.

It's clear now that Don is creating a poisonous atmosphere in the house which is effecting everyone. Sue still holds out, probably because she doesn't want to see the end of her marriage but she is flogging a dead horse. The sooner she realizes this the better for everyone.

Don is not blessed with redeeming qualities and he's never really needed them up until now. He's a bully who is used to getting his own way. He also pays most of the bills which gives him a lot of clout. He likes playing the big boss knowing that everyone relies on him to pick up the tab. Everyone except for Robbie. It's another reason for Don to dislike him. Daniel has played an important role in Robbie's integration into the family. His willingness to give up half of his room and most of his privacy to a troubled and moody stranger was absolutely key. It could have been so much worse had Daniel not been so laid-back, especially after discovering his new brother was gay and dating his best friend. Not everything has worked against Robbie.

Okay. Not much I can add to that. I've been sitting here for ten minutes trying to think of something positive to say about Don, although I but know why I feel the urge to defend him. The best I can come up with is he doesn't swear a lot, or hardly at all, actually. He's pretty good in that department. Everything else about his character is gut-wrenching and vile.

Two hours of positivity and healing was wiped out in a blink of an eye. Almost instantaneously, the stomach cramps returned, and I started to feel sick. It seemed like all of Jo’s hard work was reversed in one sarcastic sentence by the man who I had been almost ready to forgive. As he stood in my way, waiting for an answer, Sue was quick to defend me. “Robbie didn’t mean anything bad, leave him alone.” I felt her hand on my shoulder, but my eyes were fixed on him. The large man in fr

This was very refreshing. Well-written and entertaining for children and adults. Illustrations would be good for kids, but I quite liked the detailed descriptions which allowed me to form my own mental images of the characters. I thought it added to the fun.

Thank you for your comment, @Arran and for following the story. Sorry it has taken a while to respond, sometimes it's difficult keeping up with the comments. To answer your question, the story is nearing the end now. There have been several detours to the original story which has more than doubled the length but we are now back to the first version if that makes any sense. It's been a long journey and probably more like a soap opera than a story, but it needs to have an ending. I don't want to give too much away.

My verdict. Without doubt this was a great achievement and it's a shame not everyone is able to recognize it as such. I've yet to see a single piece of legitimate evidence that suggests these were faked. As good as NASA were at the time, I don't believe they had the kind of technology it would have taken to pull off such a brazen stunt. Not under the scrutiny of the entire world, and with such keen interest from the Soviet Union. It would have been far easier to simply do it for real. Also, for many of those directly involved, the temptation to come forward and expose what would have been the world's biggest scam, would surely have proved irresistible. With supposedly 300,000 people involved in the Apollo project, we would have had more whistle-blowers by now than a Caribbean street carnival. Finally, if they did somehow manage to stage such a hoax, then it would have happened only the once. No way would they have attempted it further six times with so much to lose and little left to gain. That's common sense, but you're only cool if you believe it was a conspiracy.

Poor old Tom. No wonder he's confused. No one seems to know for sure which way he swings including him. He has claimed to be straight, bi and gay at various points in the story, but can't seem to make up his mind. I think it's safe to say he swings both ways. We will see what happens with don, but I agree, it doesn't look good.

This is a great comment @Israfil Well spotted. Ginny has indeed got some serious mental issues and that's the reason for the long stare. Maybe she recognized some similarities. She could see Robbie was blagging and so could Nathan. Don is a control freak. He sees himself as the head of the family. It's his house, his family, and they do things his way, because he knows best. Things started to go wrong for Don when Robbie arrived and particularly when he announced he was gay. He brought Nathan- the boy he despised- back into the house and now he's turned his family against him. You're right about Sue's subdued reactions.

Thank you, Tony. It's been a while since the last cliffhanger so maybe we were overdue.

I don't think Don will be too happy when he sees Jo. It's likely he will jump to conclusions and I can see him trying to get Symmonds involved again. I don't think Jo will allow that and she won't be impressed if Don interferes.

Congratulations @northie. On a well-deserved promotion. My money has been on you for quite a while.

I love the Star Wars music and the Imperial March is very apt fo Don's character and his untimely return. Nathan sounded quite genuine and obviously still thinks a lot of Robbie. We've seen this before. Underneath all that bling, he's still a caring, thoughtful guy. As for Tom, It's a nice to believe that one day they will find a way to overcome the distance between them, but that may be a little too Hollywood for this story. At the moment there doesn't seem to be a way this can happen and Robbie thoughts confirm this, but he can still dream.

I think Robbie was ready to talk to the first genuine person who he felt he could trust. He had too many issues bogging him down. thanks @chris191070