"Lunch is coming!" they heard a familiar voice, barely after the visitor had announced his arrival with a quick ring and had gained access with the key so as not to disturb the two of them and have to open the door themselves.

"Ches. Nice to see you. Are you free today?" Penny greeted her son-in-law with a smile as he poked his head into the living room, where they had settled down today because the sky was overcast again and it kept raining. The TV program, however, wasn't exactly thrilling today either.

"It's quiet, and Mairi had to accompany Piper to a checkup, so I cooked," he told them, offering Penny his hand to help her up while Sam worked himself up from the couch.

"Oh, please not your chili again. My stomach doesn't handle spicy food very well anymore," Sam pleaded, remembering that Mairi always complained that Chester didn't cook anything but chili. After eating it for the first time, he only ate the bread whenever Chester served it at a birthday party.

"Your stomach has never tolerated spicy food, Sam. But Chester's chili has never been as bad as your sister-in-law's spicy snacks," Penny said with a grin, reaching into the kitchen and reaching for jars in the cupboard while Chester divided the food from the warming bowls onto two plates.

"Before this turns into a marital argument, I'd better tell you right away that it's not chili. I made meatloaf. Not spicy," Chester remarked with a grin, and Sam grumbled in dissatisfaction as their daughter's husband handed them their plates and, after a brief thank you, they both began eating.

"But it's too salty!" Sam immediately remarked, and Chester slumped his shoulders in disappointment.

"Sam!" Penny immediately admonished her husband after hastily swallowing and turned back to her son-in-law. "Sorry, Chester. The old grump hasn't found anything to complain about today. It's very good," she then explained with a nasty sideways glance at Sam, who only responded with a grumpy snort. But Chester waved her off with a laugh and began packing the bowls back into the basket he'd brought everything in. He would wash everything later at home with the help of the dishwasher. After all, it needed something to do.

He noticed his shoulder aching again, something the old gunshot wound often did on days like today. His battered bones could no longer tolerate drastic changes in the weather. Mairi felt the same way, having taken many more bullets during her career as a police officer, but strangely enough, cold days tended to bother her more. Strange, how life sometimes worked.

"Are you okay?" he heard his mother-in-law ask and looked up at her. She seemed worried and had noticed that things weren't going well, but he didn't want to worry her, so he smiled. At second glance, he saw that they hadn't had anything to drink yet.

"Yes, everything's fine. You know, in this weather, my old injury is bothering me a bit, but it's going to stop soon," he reassured them as he got the juice from the fridge and filled their glasses.

"You never talked much about what happened back then," grumbled Sam, who hadn't been particularly happy about the incident at his daughter's house.

"There's nothing to tell. You know the gist. It was a gangster on a vendetta," Chester replied immediately. Mairi had strictly forbidden him to tell her parents any details back then, so as not to upset them, and they had always been content with what little they knew. Finding out the details now, at their advanced age, certainly wasn't very wise. Especially not with Sam's weak heart.

"We're old, Chester, and we don't remember everything very well anymore. Jog our memory a little, please," Sam replied, earning a surprised look from both Penny and his son-in-law because he didn't often admit that he'd grown old.

"Exactly. After all these years, you could really tell us what exactly happened," Penny jumped on the idea anyway, because she really wanted to know what had happened.

"Okay. But only if you don't get as upset or overreact like you did back then!" Chester begged them hesitantly, remembering it. Even though they'd never really complained, the two of them had been extremely worried about their daughter and grandchildren, and about him too. Sam had personally worked with Malcolm to install a better alarm system, with emergency buttons in many rooms that would send a direct emergency call to the police station. He'd also begged them to consider a panic room where they could seek shelter with the children in if something like that happened again, as well as to have bulletproof glass installed in the windows. They'd decided against both. It would have been immensely expensive, and they hadn't even needed the alarm system. It had been, and will remain, a one-time incident.

Sure, Mairi and Chester had put a few people in jail, but it wasn't uncommon for one of them to seek revenge when they were released. That was more out of hurt pride than revenge.

"Who overreacted?" Sam demanded skeptically, and Chester wondered for a moment whether he was just pretending or had really forgotten.

"Mairi was pretty upset. Especially about you and Malcolm afterwards," the lawyer reminded him gently, and Sam just snorted derisively again.

"She gave me far more reasons to be upset, and my poor old heart survived everything, didn't it?!" he grumbled back to his son-in-law before demanding that he finally tell his story.

Chester took a deep breath, knowing full well that they wouldn't let him leave until he'd shared his memories with them, and sat down next to them at the table. "Okay, where do I start?" he thought for a moment.

Unfortunately, I remember everything about that day all too well. I wasn't there or conscious the whole time. The incident with Byrne happened only five years ago. Piper was four years old, and Mairi had a day off. The two of them had been playing catch together in the living room while the triplets were taking their nap in their room and Josh was at school. I heard them both spluttering and Piper laughing. She was having so much fun.

I had gone back to the office after lunch, studying a case file to prepare for the next hearing a few days later, when it suddenly became quiet. Far too quiet for my liking.

At first, I thought Piper might have fallen, but she wasn't crying. Then I heard a door slam and Mairi saying something to Piper. She sounded excited, but not panicked. I was already getting up to see what was going on when I noticed movement and saw Piper running away through the back garden.

I wanted to go after her because at the time, I didn't understand why my four-year-old daughter was running away on her own. I couldn't have known that Mairi had sent her away to run to the neighbors, tell them to call the police and to stay where she was safe. I had just opened the door when I heard a bang from the front of the house. Not a gunshot, but definitely the sound of a door being kicked in.

I immediately ran to the front and discovered Mairi lying on the floor in the living room with that nasty guy on top of her, who had prevented her from reaching the gun she always kept on the top shelf. Instead, he was holding a gun in her face. It was this Oliver. Byrne's nephew. Only later did I learn that he had escaped from prison and was out for revenge. After all, Mairi and I had both testified against him in court. He had already been out of his mind. I knew that if I intervened now, he would use Mairi as a hostage and take her away or kill her. I was unarmed, and I had to change that to stall him until Piper hopefully found a neighbor who would call the police and they would arrive.

So, taking advantage of the moment when I was still undetected, I ran back to my study and took the gun from my locked drawer, loaded it, and released the safety catch. I know you were never particularly happy about us having guns in the house, but in that moment, it paid off. As a police officer and a lawyer, you don't just make friends, and we always just wanted to protect our family.

"Now I've finally got you, sweetie, and this time your shining savior isn't in sight!" I heard Oliver say to Mairi, and his voice was so full of satisfaction that I wanted to punch him right in the... Sorry. I let myself go. It still infuriates me to think that someone hurt or threatened my wife.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Oliver!" I told him, and he froze, his gaze flickering up to me and down the barrel of my gun. "Get off her!" I then ordered him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me instead, his own gun still at Mairi's temple, her wrists grasped with his other hand. She was completely defenseless, pinned to the ground by his weight. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I live here. When you were researching where she lives, didn't you also check who she was with?!" was all I replied, because it was so typical of him. I hadn't known him any differently at the club. He wasn't someone who could make a plan, let alone think things through properly.

"I did, but his name was Chester Cole, not Ches Lawson," he retorted, and I was surprised that he was really so stupid and it never seemed to have gotten through to him, that I'd only been working for Byrne under an assumed name.

"Yeah, you were never the brightest candle on the cake!" Mairi grumbled disparagingly, drawing Oliver's attention back to her, who glared down at her angrily and pressed the barrel of his gun against her temple with even more force, as if to remind her who was in charge.

"Not helpful, Red!" I muttered, hoping she'd understand and be able to rein in her temper for a few moments until I got everything under control.

"For once, your boyfriend is actually right!" Oliver immediately growled, struggling to his feet and pulling Mairi up with him, ordering her to 'Get up!'

"He's my husband, and he doesn't like it when other men get too close to me!" Mairi explained to him when they were both back on their feet and Oliver held her in front of him, keeping her hands together behind her back and the gun pressed into her back the whole time. It was only then that I realized it was Mairi's service weapon. He must have pretty much overpowered her.

"So?!" he then stated with a grin, to my annoyance. "So you've actually managed to tame that little beast?!" he then said, which seemed to amuse him as he backed away from me with Mairi. Just then, one of the triplets upstairs started whining, and, as expected, the other two woke up as well. "Oh, and you have kids too. Really? Five of them?" he remarked, less surprised than a little gleeful, and as he walked past, he spotted the family photo we had taken in the garden shortly before on the dresser. That he didn't recognize Josh wasn't even surprising to me, since he hadn't seen much of the boy or shown any interest in his younger relative. "You're not leaving anything to chance, are you? Where are the rascals? Upstairs?" he asked, backing away toward the stairs, while all the alarm bells in my head started ringing and Mairi's eyes widened in fear.

"Stay where you are, Oliver!" I warned him again, taking a big step after them.

"I think you're the one who should stay where you are right now, right, Ches?!" he warned me, pressing the gun so hard against Mairi's temple that she tilted her head to the side, grimacing in pain. So I did as he said and stayed where I was. What choice did I have?! Oliver was so crazy that I would have believed him capable of anything, and I just wanted my family to be safe. "All these years I sat in my cell and saw your faces over and over again. You two were always screwing me over at the club and even made sure in court I got more years." That at least explained why he was here, and he was right. He had been caught by the police after the arson attack on the club. But in addition to the arson charge, I also filed charges for drug possession and distribution, as well as aggravated assault and attempted rape. He got 15 years. If you ask me, that wasn't enough for me back then.

"This isn't exactly going to get you released early for good behavior!" I reminded him, but it would only lengthen his sentence.

"Maybe not, but if they catch me, I can sweeten the next few years by killing two birds with one stone," he then said with such a nasty grin it almost made my stomach turn.

"What would that be?" I asked him anyway, just to stall. If Piper had made it to the neighbors, reinforcements would be arriving soon, I was sure of it.

"To have your sweetheart here for myself at least once and..." He paused, and I warned myself to be careful. It was bad enough that he'd come back to finish what he'd planned with Mairi at the club, but that wasn't all he had in mind. "Taking you out!" he then said, pointing the gun at me so suddenly that I didn't even have time to pull the trigger before a searing pain flared, the force of the bullet knocking me against the wall and sending me sprawling to the ground.

"Ches!" I heard Mairi call out fearfully, and I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry at first, but I saw him pushing her up the stairs, pressing his gun into her back. "Give it up, Oliver! The police is already on their way," she told him as she stumbled up the stairs. She had hoped that the announcement might actually make him run for it. But his freedom had never been his concern when he escaped.

"As if! Who could have called them?!" he retorted incredulously.

"Our daughter. She was able to escape. I told her what to do!" Their voices grew more and more distant as I struggled to my feet. The pain in my shoulder was awful, but what would you expect from a gunshot wound when the bullet had also broken my collarbone?

"You damn..." A clap sounded, and I heard Mairi groan as I reached for the gun that had fallen from my hand with my left hand. I knew he had hit her. I knew I was her only hope. "Well, then things will have to go a little faster. Too bad!" I heard clothes ripping as I struggled up the stairs, heard Mairi protesting as she tried to defend herself against him. At one point, she even called out to me, and I was sorry I couldn't answer her, but it wouldn't have been good to betray myself while I was still working my way up the stairs. The triplets were now whimpering and crying bitterly. They too heard the commotion, and what was going on must have scared them. "Damn it! This is annoying! Tell them to shut up!" Oliver snapped at Mairi as I was just getting upstairs and working my way along the wall toward the bedroom. The bullet hadn't hit my legs, but my blood was going crazy from the pain, and I felt pretty dizzy.

"They're only 8 months old. What do you think they'll do if I suggest that?!"

"Well then..." I heard Oliver grumble, and the next moment he shot across the hallway straight into the triplets' bedroom. I held my breath for that second, but he was so caught up in his rage that he didn't look left or right and thus didn't notice me. But I hadn't been fast enough either. By the time I finally raised the gun, ready to fire, he had already disappeared into the bedroom.

"NO!" Mairi immediately cried out in fear, and ran across the hallway just as fast as he did. It was only seconds, but I still remember exactly how she jumped on his back, pulling him backward and sending him crashing to the ground.

Mairi struggled with him and took a bullet in the leg herself, while I stood there pointing the gun at them both, trying to get Oliver in my sights without endangering Mairi. The triplets screamed heartbreakingly. They must have been terrified. I'm glad they don't remember it and it was just that one incident in our house.

Mairi tried to wrest the gun from him. I aimed at Oliver, but because he had shot me in the right shoulder, I could only do it with my left hand. But I wasn't as good a shot as Mairi, and certainly not with my left hand. I was far too afraid to hit her while they were wrestling. I waited for the perfect opportunity while they twisted and turned, each trying to gain control of the gun in their hands. Mairi did a great job. She kicked him and punched him, but he never backed away enough for me to get Mairi out of the line of fire for even a second.

It might sound like the fight lasted a long time, but it was actually only seconds. Mairi finally saw me and took a step away from him.

"Shoot, Ches!" she shouted, as Oliver was about to point the gun at her again, but stopped to look at me. Too late. I had pulled the trigger at that exact moment and hit him in the shoulder as well. He fell to the ground, and we thought it was over when he raised his gun again and fired.

It all happened so quickly again, and yet... When the bullet hit me, I knew the wound wouldn't heal as easily as the one in my shoulder. I saw Mairi, her first impulse, kicking the gun out of Oliver's hand, heard the triplets crying as if from far away, as well as sirens. People rushed past me while I thought I was falling. Everyone is always afraid that dying is painful, but in that moment, it felt peaceful. I didn't even felt pain anymore. The next thing I saw was Mairi appearing above me. She looked like an angel. A tearful angel, but still. I couldn't even understand what she was saying before everything went black.

I don't remember the surgery at all. Mairi and Liam later told me that Liam left the operation to a senior colleague because he was afraid of making a mistake, given that he was too emotionally involved. I think Liam could have handled it at least as well, but it was what it was.

I didn't wake up until days later, and it took me some time to recover because my kidney was beyond saving. Transitioning to a healthier lifestyle to make life easier for my remaining kidney was tough, especially since Mairi didn't make it easy for me in the beginning. She wrapped me in cotton wool and banned all chips and chocolate from the house. It was such torture. But she always said it was a small price to pay for me surviving, and I think she was right.

"She certainly was. It's a good thing that was the only serious incident for you," Penny said, taking a deep breath. She was really too old for such detailed stories. Sure, she had known what had happened back then, but she hadn't yet been aware of the little details that make your heart race in every crime novel.

"You're not the only ones happy about that. None of us expected it. Oliver still had nine years left. He must have hidden in the laundry cart and gotten out of prison that way. The trick is so old that it's a disgrace for the prison that it still seems to work. But he got another life sentence on top of that and died in prison last year. So, we have nothing to fear from him anymore," Chester remarked, giving his in-laws a reassuring smile.

"It's still strange that he wanted revenge on you and not on his uncle. You'd think he'd be more angry with him," Sam interjected. Somehow, Chester even had to agree with him. After all, his own uncle had kicked him out and banished him back then. If Byrne had continued to feed him and let him do as he always had, the arson attack probably would never have happened, but Chester also knew that he and Mairi would certainly have been dead long ago. Oliver had unwittingly saved their lives back then.

"He probably was, but he couldn't get to him with Byrne in jail on the other side of the country. Mairi, on the other hand... he had a crush on her from the start, and he hated me because I never took him seriously and put him in his place more than once and kept him away from Mairi," Chester explained the lighter version to them both, because he could see how worried they were about his story. He just hoped Mairi wouldn't rip his head off for it.

"Which you did very well, Ches. I'm glad our daughter found such a good protector in you," Penny said with a smile, placing her hand on his, which Chester immediately followed, placing his other hand on hers and smiling happily as well.

"We would have been nothing all these years without your help. Especially after the shooting in our house. You looked after and cared for the triplets, Piper and Josh, for days, made sure everything was cleaned and repaired, and you supported Mairi later on until her wound healed and I was home again," Chester noted. They had done so much for them, for his family, back then. His in-laws had both always been there for them, and he would be eternally grateful.

"You're our family, Chester. That goes without saying. Besides, we were never alone. Liam and Fiona and Aidan pitched in, and don't forget Malcolm and Rose and all the others," Sam then reminded him with a smile, noting that they hadn't done all the work alone and that their family, and thus their support, was much greater than their familial ties.

"Yes, that's right. Pontypandy still seems like a miracle to me. Even though I've almost grown up here thanks to you," Chester then said with a laugh, knowing that the town, and especially its residents, would never change. Here, everyone was there for each other. One more reason why he loved the town so much.

"Well, no one can say it's ever boring here, that's for sure!" Sam then remarked with a grin, as the front door opened and Mairi and Piper came in, surprised that Chester was still there. But they took the opportunity to look together at the latest ultrasound picture of their first grandchild and great-grandchild - happy and content that there would soon be another child to ensure that Pontypandy was truly never boring.

To be continued...