The Gordon family moved onto Brookside Close in 2002. The eldest daughter Ruth had a son, Luke, with her previous husband Sean Smith. Ruth and Sean had already split by the time they moved onto the Close. Ruth first appeared with a black eye after fighting with husband Sean after he had discovered her affair with ex-boyfriend Dan Morrisey. In sympathy, her parents Alan and Debbie allowed Ruth to stay, but were somewhat put out when Dan came to stay as well.
Relationship with Luke
Dan felt nothing bus resentment for his new step-son Luke. He resented him interrupting his time with Ruth, and resented having to look after him while Ruth worked. At the time, Ruth and Sean were engaged in a custody battle over Luke; Debbie became concerned about bruises appearing on Luke and wrongly assumed they must have come from Sean. After the Alan went missing and was found dead in Kingston upon Hull, Ruth and Dan started taking charge of the Gordon household, a role which Dan did not seem to eager to take on and one he would use to vent his frustrations on Luke. After a confrontation between Dan and Sean over Dan's treatment of Luke, Luke chased off after Sean as he was leaving in his van. Dan violently pulled him back, this however was seen by Sean who got out of his van and punched Dan to the ground. Later, as punishment for Luke, Dan made him standbehind the curtain and refused to allow him to use the lavatory.
Physical abuse
Dan became constantly frustrated with Luke not obeying his directions and became very forthright about punishing him. After Luke complained about the water in the shower being too cold, Dan deliberately scolded him and then blamed the incident on a faulty shower, something Ruth believed. Sean however was less than satisfied with this explanation and refused to believe it was an accident. Ali was later shocked to see that Luke had wet himself behind the curtain and that Luke appeared frightened of Dan. Dan explained that the fight had made Luke wet himself but Ali wasn't convinced by this explanation. When Ruth arrived home, she argued with Dan over him disciplining her son. Dan continued to victimise Luke, openly blaming him for being stuck in Liverpool. The tension became too much for Luke and he knocked his food on the floor. Dan insisted he eat it from the floor like a dog, when Luke refused Dan locked him out in the rain. Ruth found out and was annoyed but after Dan threatened to leave she forgave him. Later, Luke stayed with Dan and accidentally knocked over a bottle of milk. Dan started shouting at Luke. Ali and Stuart had come to see Luke and heard the shouting, confronting Dan about it. Later, when Luke told Ruth that Dan had hit him, it became the final straw and she realised she couldn't trust Dan with her son and she left him.
