Walford is My Home Sweet Home

by MythMoonWitch

Part 4 in the "Walford is" series. This part picks up over two years after the end of "Walford is My Home Town"

1. Chapter 1

We do not own Eastenders, Ashes to Ashes, Waterloo Road, Doctors, Emmerdale or River City

Chapter 1

Whitney strolled down the street and stopped at the restaurant to get coffee and something for breakfast. She tossed her long, burgundy-streaked curls over her shoulder and smiled at Nora.

"Usual, please," she said brightly and handed over the money for the coffees and cakes she usually bought for herself and Jodie. She thought about her shop and smiled again. She still couldn't believe she's managed it. Although, designing Jodie an amazing wedding dress had helped tremendously with getting things off the ground.

So, she'd closed down the stall and gathered up her savings and managed to get a bit of help from Bianca to get the shop. It wasn't on the High Street, but it was close and it had a flat over it, which was useful. Lauren had immediately jumped on being her roommate. She had got herself a job as a receptionist in an office not far away and the money she paid in for her share of the rent came in very handy. And fortunately Lauren didn't seem to mind that their front room was nothing more than a design studio with bolts of material piled around, Whitney's drafting table, a desk for them to sit at and do paperwork and a couple of dressmaker dummies. Not to mention the long table under the window that she used for cutting patterns.

She thanked Nora and gave Rowan a wave before heading out and back to the shop to open for the day. She opened the door, flipped the sign to "open" and put the coffees and bag with the muffins in it behind the counter. She opened her laptop and checked the website for orders and went into the small back room that she used for some storage and where she also had a second sewing machine set up and began to finish up the most recent order, humming and taking occasional sips of her coffee as she listened for the bell over the door.

Rowan finished wiping down the cleared tables and then hurried upstairs.

"Ray, you're going to be late," she called out and poked her head around the nursery door. She smiled brightly at the twins and took their hands and led them into the front room.

"Where is your father?" she asked them and Claire smiled slyly and pointed at the bedroom. Rowan tapped her daughter on the nose and went into the bedroom.

"Ray, come on, I have to get the twins to play group before the breakfast rush gets going and I promised Shaz I'd take Olivia and you're going to be late for work," she admonished.

Ray grunted and rolled onto his back to raise his head to look at her. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered as he heaved himself out of bed and rubbed his face with his hand. He showered quickly and dressed himself for work. He padded through to the front room with a small yawn and grinned at the twins as he saw them ready and waiting to go.

"All right," he said as he eyed them. "Which of you two little monsters ratted me out to your Mam?" he demanded to know as he smiled at the pair of them.

Ray glanced up at Rowan and looked at her hopefully. "I don't suppose there's any breakfast going at all?" he asked with an innocent smile.

Rowan sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You can eat with everyone else at the station," she told him and gave him a shove.

"Dada!" Claire shrieked and wrapped her arms and legs tightly around Ray's leg as she sat on his shoe. Rowan snorted laughter and looked down at Denis, who was looking at Claire in something very like disgust. The toddler made a noise and then looked up at Rowan. He spread his arms as if to say "why me?" and then he turned and wandered over towards the door.

Rowan looked back at Ray and folded her arms.

"It seems Denis is ready to go," she remarked and slung her bag over her shoulder. "I've asked Syed to load the station breakfasts into the car," she told him. She was glad she had invested in a large plastic cooler. The breakfast containers could be packed into it and it fit nicely into the trunk of the car. That way the car seats in the back didn't interfere.

She went over and opened the door and followed Denis down the stairs, leaving Ray to deal with Claire.

Ray frowned at Rowan and then looked down at Claire.

"Hey," he said to her, amusement leaking into his voice. "Leggo of me," he said as he gave his leg a gentle shake to try to dislodge her. He glanced up as Rowan left the flat and then stared back down at Claire.

"Oi," he said as he reached down and pulled her off his foot. "Come on, Madam, before you go getting me in trouble," he said as he kissed her forehead and placed a hand over his stomach as it rumbled loudly.

Claire giggled but refused to let go of Ray's leg. She let go willingly once he reached down for her. She smiled and kissed his cheek noisily before laying her head on his shoulder.

He looked at Claire as he carried her downstairs. "So, playgroup, huh?" he asked. "You gonna paint me another masterpiece?" he grinned at her as he reached the car and put her down into her car seat. He made sure both of them were strapped in and ruffled Denis' hair affectionately before getting into the car behind the wheel.

"Yes," Claire said with a sharp nod.

Denis giggled as Ray mussed his hair and quickly raised his hands to flatten it.

"So, we getting Olivia first or am I going to work first?" he asked her as he pulled away from the curb.

"You at the station and then go pick up Olivia, she's on the way to playgroup," Rowan told him and fastened her seatbelt.

Ray's stomach rumbled again and he looked pointedly at Rowan and then gestured at his stomach. "That's your fault," he told her, then grinned at her as he started up the car.

She looked at Ray and frowned.

"No, you're the one who couldn't get your lazy carcass out of bed," she retorted.

She heard Denis and Claire begin to giggle and then suddenly Denis' voice rang out.

"Carcath, carcath," he parroted while Claire giggled and Rowan sighed.

Ray chuckled to himself as he heard Denis chime up and looked over at him. He was still having trouble with the letter 'S' and often pronounced the word Spoon as Poon. They'd have to make sure that he got that sorted. He wasn't sure how though, maybe Alex would know, it was probably some sort of psychological issue, Alex was supposed to be good at that stuff.

"Yeah, well, you're always up early!" he protested. "You should've woken me up," he grinned at her.

Rowan looked at him and cocked her brow. "I did wake you up," she told him in a level tone.

Ray snorted. "Clearly you didn't," he retorted. "Well, okay, you woke me, but you didn't get me up," he said with a shrug.

Rowan gaped at Ray for a moment and shook her head.

"I shouldn't have to drag you out of bed, you're a grown up."

Ray parked up outside the Station and kissed Rowan before getting out of the car. He opened the door to the back of the car and kissed both Denis and Claire on their foreheads before winking at his family and heading inside the Station.

Rowan climbed out of the car and got into the driver's seat and sighed as she belted herself in.

"Let's go," she sang.

"Lesssgoooooo," the twins cried behind her and she headed for Chris and Shaz' flat.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Chris hurried around trying frantically to find Olivia's favorite toy. It never seemed to be around when she really wanted it.

"Shaz, I can't find the bloody dog," he yelled as he fished under the recliner. He got up and went into the kitchen and checked the refrigerator. He'd found that bloody toy of Olivia's in odder places.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, where are you, you stupid dog," he muttered to himself when the toy proved to not be in the refrigerator.

He glanced at the clock and swore softly. Rowan would be here any minute to pick Olivia up. They traded off taking the kids to the play group. He hated it when they ran late; Rowan was always so ready and punctual. He cursed again and began opening kitchen cupboards to find the toy. Olivia would go nowhere with out that dog.

As much as she could be a troublemaker, he loved their daughter. He'd been so happy when Shaz had turned up pregnant he'd hardly been able to speak. Now they had Olivia, one year old and their own precious girl. Considering how bad the birth had been, Chris was lucky they had survived. He was thankful for it every day. Shaz couldn't have any more children, the emergency surgery she'd had to have had seen to that, but Chris didn't care. He had Shaz still and they had their own little miracle.

Shaz carried Olivia into the front room and placed her on the sofa carefully and then chuckled at Chris. She bit her lip as she scanned the room and then made an exclamation of triumph. She dashed past Chris and grabbed the toy from the fruit bowl. She handed it to Olivia and smiled at Chris.

"There, how on earth did you miss that?" she asked him incredulously as she made sure that Olivia was ready to go when Rowan got here. The house always seemed to be in some state of chaos now, ever since Olivia had been born the place had never seemed to be completely tidy. There were always toys scattered about, and the occasional sock lying around here and there as the toddler refused to wear them.

"And stop swearing in front of her Chris, I don't want her picking up bad habits," she smiled as she moved over to kiss him on the cheek. She glanced up at the clock. "What time is Ro supposed to be here?" she asked.

"Because it's never someplace obvious like that," Chris argued. "She always put the thing someplace bizarre."

"I wasn't swearing in front of her," he disagreed. "She was in the next room and I was barely talking loud enough to hear myself."

He grabbed up his jacket and pulled it on and handed Shaz her handbag.

"She should be here any minute," he replied and handed her a cup of tea and took a quick sip of his own.

Shaz sighed and shook her head. "You need to look in the obvious places, too," she smiled at him. "Like that time it was actually on her bed," she chuckled. "And we spent at least an hour searching for it to get her to stop crying," she said as she looked over at her daughter.

Shaz shook her head. "I still heard you Chris, and if I could hear you then she probably could," she argued back.

Shaz nodded at him and took her tea, she swallowed a mouthful down and then moved over to Olivia. "You ready to go to playgroup with Claire and Denis?" she asked as she smoothed out Olivia's hair. The girl nodded back eagerly and hugged the dog to her. Shaz smiled and pulled Olivia onto her lap. "You be good for Rowan in the car Olivia, you hear me," she said. "No playing up for Rowan," she told her.

"You promise?"

Olivia nodded and grinned up at Shaz. "Yeah," she said.

"Good girl," Shaz beamed down at her.

"Come on, let's go," Chris said and grabbed Olivia's bag. He went to the door and held it open so Shaz could walk out carrying Olivia. He hurried downstairs and got the building door open and waved as he saw Rowan pulling up in the car.

He waited until Shaz was out and then went to their car and got Olivia's car seat out so he could put it in Rowan's car.

Rowan stopped and got out of the car.

"Hey," she greeted them and smiled.

She opened the back door of the car so Chris could put in the car seat and went over to Shaz.

"So, this weekend? Bit of sci fi?" she asked. "Hopefully, Chris and Ray will go to the pub and leave us alone," she grinned and tickled Olivia under the girl's chin.

"Oh, definitely," Shaz agreed as she smiled at Olivia. "You'll bring the twins, too?" she asked with a smile as she glanced over at Chris as he settled the car seat into Rowan's car.

She waved at Claire and Denis from where they sat in the car and then looked back at Rowan. "Will you bring some food?" she asked.

Rowan gave Shaz an affronted look.

"Have you ever known me not to bring food?" she asked in shock. "Really, Shaz, I'm appalled at such a question," she added and chuckled.

"We'll see you later," Rowan said and made sure the children were secure before climbing back into the car.

She looked out the car window at Shaz again. "Will I bring food, indeed," she snorted and flashed a smile as she drove off to drop the kids.

Shaz smirked as she waved briefly at Rowan as her car disappeared from sight and then hurried to get in the car with Chris to go to work.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Alyssa sat in the bathroom and tapped the stick on her hand anxiously. She had suspected as much, she'd had the suspicion for a couple of days now, she had been right. Alyssa sighed and listened to the sounds of Jack's gentle snores, glad for once that he wasn't up yet. She looked down at the positive pregnancy test again and gulped once more. This wasn't supposed to happen: she didn't want kids. She frowned and stood up from her perch on the edge of the bath, the pregnancy test held in her hand as she moved back towards the bedroom and sat down on the bed next to where Jack lay asleep. She put the test in her lap and ran a finger down his cheek as she looked at him.

Alyssa stood up and shook her head. She wasn't going to tell him. Not yet. She put the test into her beside drawer and went about getting quietly dressed while Jack slept.

Alyssa sat in the kitchen and looked at the fridge. She really should eat, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She sighed and shook her head. She had to tell him, if she told him now then he had the whole day to dwell on it and decide how he felt before she got home, then they could talk about it. She pulled herself out of the chair, sparing a glance at the clock on the oven as she went. She had 10 minutes before she had to be at work.

Alyssa took a deep breath as she climbed the stairs and tiptoed into the bedroom; she pulled the test out of her bedside draw and tapped it on the palm of her hand again. She forced herself to sit down on the bed next to Jack. It wasn't fair for her to get rid of it without telling him, it would be easier, but unfair. Alyssa reached out her hand and shook his shoulder gently.

"Jack," she whispered to him. "Wake up."

Jack grunted and rolled over and looked up at Alyssa. At the look on her face, he immediately sat up.

"Lyss, what's wrong?" he asked in concern and took her hand. He noticed the white stick in her hand and paused a beat before raising his gaze again to meet her eyes.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Alyssa sat there and nodded slowly at him as she put the stick into his hand. "It's positive Jack," she said shakily and swallowed anxiously.

Alyssa drew in a deep breath and glanced at his clock. "I need to go to work," she said as she stood up. "I'll be home for lunch, I'll see you then," she added as she walked out of the bedroom and hurried down the stairs and out of the house. She drew in a deep, controlling breath as she headed quickly to the salon; she needed to take her mind off this.

"Positive," Jack barely whispered. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Alyssa was suddenly leaving. He jumped from the bed.

"Lyss, wait!" he called and heard the door slam. She was pregnant. And he was pretty sure she was not happy about it. The question was: was he? He knew he wasn't supposed to be, but he couldn't help feeling very slightly excited about it. He knew he shouldn't. She would certainly not want to keep the baby. He sighed and pulled on his robe and went out into the garden to smoke.

Maybe he could persuade her otherwise.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Peter sighed as he headed for the pub. He actually preferred it now helping Jane at the cafe. He was also working at the pub since JT and Roxy had gone to America for a year. He glanced at the gate of the house and shook his head.

He really wished his father had never come back. The day after he and Molly had got back from the Halloween party to find Ian standing in the front room, it had been a nightmare. Ian had kicked the pair of them out and told Peter he was finished at the chippy. Peter had caught sight of Ben looking a bit shamefaced at Ian's behavior, but he'd said nothing. Peter and Molly had packed their things and moved out. Luck had been a bit on their side however. Tanya let them have her spare room in her flat and then a week later had moved back in with Max, leaving the flat to them.

Jane hadn't minded at all. She had immediately put Peter to work in the cafe and given them a reasonable rent on the flat. Then just a few months ago, Roxy and JT had decided to go to America. Molly had managed to impress Roxy with her business management courses, enough to put Molly in charge of the club while she was gone, with Sarah's help of course. Peter had gone to work in the pub kitchen.

He knocked on the door and smiled at Peggy when she let him in.

"Oh, I need to leave early today, Molly and I have a doctor's appointment," he told her and she nodded. "That's fine, darlin'," Peggy said and patted his hand. Peter held back a sigh and rolled his eyes behind Peggy's back. Was there anyone who didn't seem to know that he and Molly were trying for a baby? Ever since they'd got married just over a year ago. Peter had been happy to wait until Molly finished Uni, but Molly had a mind of her own.

He pulled on the apron, rolled up his sleeves and got ready for the day.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Tanya looked at the clock as she woke and sighed heavily. She wasn't working today, it was Alyssa's turn. She smiled as she rolled back over and hugged the duvet closer to her. Her gaze fell on Max as he slept and she grinned. However much she had hated herself for doing it at the time, staying in the B&B room with him that night had been the best thing she could've done. They'd got back together soon after and she was happy, she knew that it wouldn't last forever but for now she was willing to go with it. She knew she had never truly got over Max, and she knew deep down that she would have gone back to him at some point, child care arrangements were certainly easier now as well. Her only issue had been Jane, she had been getting closer to Max and Tanya knew that she had been more upset that she had let on when she had told her that she was getting back together with Max.

Tanya sighed and spread her hand over his chest; he had to get to the car lot.

"Max," she sang lightly. "Get up," she smiled.

Max opened his eyes and looked at Tanya. He still couldn't believe they'd got back together. He'd felt bad about Jane, but she wasn't as upset as he thought she'd be.

He sat up and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

"I assume you're taking Oscar today?" he wanted to know. "Don't suppose there's any chance of a cuppa?"

Tanya nodded. "You've got to get to the Car Lot, so yeah, I'll take Oscar," she agreed.

Tanya sighed and nodded. "I suppose so" she agreed and she swung her legs out of bed. Tanya trailed downstairs and stuck the kettle on. She checked the calendar as she waited for the water to boil and sighed, Abi was on holiday now and she and her friends had gone down to Newquay to celebrate. So, all she had to worry about was Oscar. Tanya fixed Max a cup of tea and then took it back up to the bedroom, she left it on the dressing table for him as she went to go and get Oscar up and ready for Playgroup.

"Thanks, Tan," Max said appreciatively and took a sip before heading into the bathroom to shower. He quickly dressed and bounded downstairs. Tanya was already gone. Ah well, he'd see her for lunch, he'd make sure of that.

He carefully rinsed out the mug and left for the car lot. He nodded at Bradley and then sat down behind his desk and started going through the day's business.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Alyssa was in a world of her own as she set about opening up the Salon and getting it ready for the first customers. Pregnant. She could barely get her head around it, she wasn't sure she wanted to get her head around it. The less attached she got to the idea of a person growing inside her, the easier an abortion would be. But Jack...

She sighed, she would tell Jack how she felt about it, he already knew that kids weren't on her agenda. She didn't want them, simple as. But they'd never really discussed how he would feel about kids; sure he'd said that if they did have them he wanted them while he felt he was still young enough to manage, but they'd never taken the conversation any further than that. She sighed as she watched Maddie, Kim and Gayna all traipse in and nodded mutely at them.

She half-wished she hadn't walked out before talking to him about it, now it would play on her mind. What would she do if he did want to keep it. She would have a hard time saying no, it would hurt him. She didn't want to hurt him. But she didn't want this baby. Alyssa sighed and picked up her phone. She put it down almost immediately; they weren't having this conversation by phone.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Molly pushed her work away in frustration. She had taken an Open University Course so that she could work and study at the same time, but this one assignment was doing her head in. She couldn't write the stupid essay. It was too difficult. She sighed as she sat back in her chair and glared at the sheets of paper. She was restless, her appointment was today and it was all she could think of. She sighed and stood up, Peter had work so she couldn't disturb him. No doubt Whit was busy, too.

Molly went into the bedroom and changed into a pair of shorts and a loose top, then tied her hair into a pony tail before tying up her trainers. She was going to run until she felt calm enough to concentrate on that stupid essay, then she was going to go to that appointment and hopefully put her mind at ease. She nodded determinedly as she left the flat.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Chris started up the car and drove them to the station.

"So, have you got used to being a DS yet?" Chris asked curiously. The Guv had promoted her just a couple weeks before. He was so proud of her.

He parked the car and hurried around and opened the car door for her.

Shaz shrugged and smiled at him. "I suppose, it's not really all that different from DC if I'm honest," she smiled at him as she shut her car door and walked with him into the station, sparing a smile at Adam as they passed him. She went into the office and smiled at Ginger as she passed his desk, she chuckled at the sight of him yawning.

Chris shook his head; he couldn't believe Shaz was being so blasé about her promotion. He was really proud of her. He grabbed up a breakfast container and dropped into his chair and looked over at Ginger as he opened the container, glanced at the food and then back at Ginger.

"Morning, sleepy head," she said to him as she took her seat at her desk and eyed her stack of paperwork warily.

"So, what did you get up to?" Chris asked and then held up a hand at the look on Ginger's face. "Never mind, I don't want to know."

"Actually, just got back into town. Simon and I went to Letherbridge over our time off, his mates kept us up late last night, saying goodbye," Ginger sighed. "I'll be fine."

"Morning," Ray called out from his desk in the other room. Shaz rolled her eyes. "I wasn't talking to you Ray!"

"I'm sleepy, too, you should be more specific," Ray grumbled back. Shaz chuckled and looked back at Ginger with a smile.

"Why are you sleepy?" she asked Ray.

Ray frowned. "Why'd you think?" he retorted. "I've got twins that wear me out and wake up too early," he said.

Shaz smiled at Ginger and then noticed Chris eating. She looked around and licked her lips as she spotted the breakfast containers, in all the chaos this morning with trying to get Olivia ready for playgroup and trying to find her dog, Shaz realised that they hadn't actually had breakfast, well, Olivia had, she'd sat down at the table while Shaz had got a shower, but she and Chris hadn't eaten. She rose from her desk and grabbed up at container, she peeked inside and licked her lips as she sat down at her desk again.

Shaz looked back up at Chris. "Ro and I are having another Sci-Fi marathon this weekend," she told him. "Just so you know," she added with a grin at him.

"Well, then, I'll see if Ray wants to go down pub," Chris said around a mouthful of breakfast. He got up and went down the hall.

"Oi, we're going t'pub this weekend. Seems Shaz and Ro want to watch their shows again," he explained.

Ray looked up at Chris and nodded gamely. "I'm up for that," he agreed and narrowed his eyes.

"Shaz and Ro will be looking after Olivia, Denis and Claire right?" he asked. "Because, I'm not sure that I want the twins in the pub, especially not if we end up playing darts, I won't be able to cope with two of them there at the same time, one maybe, but not two," he said.

Chris nodded. "Well, yeah, of course they will. Shaz was asking Rowan if she's be bringing some food. Rowan was insulted," Chris chuckled.

"Besides, if they wanted us to watch the kids, they'd be going out and we'd be staying in."

Ray shrugged and nodded.

"True nuff," he agreed. "I'll drop Ro and the kids off at yours and then we'll go down the pub," he said with a grin.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Jane sighed as the long queue for coffees and teas finally came to an end. She had to admit she had been a little hurt when Max had told her he was going back with Tanya, but part of her had been relieved. After the mess with Ian, she just couldn't take the idea of having a relationship. She had decided it was for the best and thrown herself into her work, especially after Ian had returned to the Square, Ben in tow. That had been the last thing she'd needed, but he was staying away at least.

The way he'd treated Peter, though. Peter had kept Ian's "empire" from collapsing and all he'd done was kick Peter and Molly out of the house. Jane was sure Ian hadn't even said thank you. At least he hadn't been able to take Peter's money. Jane had suggested long ago that Peter set up his own account to keep any money that he might get separate. Granted, it hadn't been much, but Ian would have made sure it was nothing.

Rowan got back to the restaurant just in time for the rush and she quickly went to work in the kitchen so Syed could help James and Nora on the floor. Once breakfast ended, she and Trevor quickly cleaned the kitchen and then sat down at the table in the kitchen with relief.

"Uh, excuse me, I'd like some service," James teased as he walked into the kitchen.

"You know where the stove is," Rowan said back tartly and sniffed. James chuckled and made himself a quick sandwich before dropping into a chair.

"I saw your team won their match the other day," James noted. Rowan nodded.

"It was a good game," she commented and turned back to her newspaper.

"Maybe if you watched my team play, they would win more, too," he said. Rowan looked at him and then at Trevor and then back at James.

"Dream on, sweetcheeks," she shot back and chuckled as she shook her head. James grinned and finished his sandwich then went back to work so Nora could take a break.

Whitney was relieved when it was finally lunchtime.

"Why don't you go and get us something from the restaurant for lunch today?" Whit suggested to Jodie, who happily agreed. When Jodie was gone, Whitney quickly finished up the order that Jodie was packing and started on the next. With any luck, they could ship three orders out today and then they'd be caught up.

She smiled to herself. It was happening. Slowly, but her shop was actually working. It was hard and she often had to watch every penny, but she didn't mind. She had done it without Brett's help. She sometimes felt slightly bad, but over her final years at school, he'd never bothered to apologize for treating her like a child who couldn't do anything, so she decided she didn't feel all that bad about dumping him.

She taped up the final box and then dug out the camera. She needed to post some new things on the website.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Tanya dropped Oscar off at Nursery and then decided to go home via the Salon, just to check everything was okay. She frowned as she looked through the window and saw Alyssa leaning on the desk, just staring straight ahead of her. Tanya sighed and pushed open the door.

"Alyssa," she said as she moved forward and frowned when she got no reaction, Alyssa just kept on staring into space. She dropped her handbag onto the desk and jolted Alyssa out of her trance.

"Oh, heya, Tan," she smiled as she leant off the desk and looked down at the appointment book.

"What's wrong, Lyss?" Tanya asked, with a frown plastered all over her face.

"Nothing, I'm fine Tanya, I'm fine," she said as she kept her gaze fixed on the book as she skimmed through it.

"Uh huh," Tanya replied, unconvinced. "Are you sure?" she pressed.

Alyssa's head whipped up. "I'm fine Tanya," she repeated, her voice a monotone. "Just drop it, please," she asked.

Tanya looked at her critically, but sighed and dropped the subject. She smiled. "Have we still got that space at 2 free? The one with Kim?" she asked and Alyssa nodded. "You want it?" she asked.

Tanya nodded and smiled. "I need my nails doing," she said and waggled her fingers. Alyssa smiled and nodded. "I'll write it down for you," she said as she grabbed up a pen and flicked back to the page and wrote down Tanya's name.

Tanya looked at Alyssa. "Lyss..."

Her head shot up and her expression went cold "I'm fine Tanya, please, just stop!" she said as she slammed the pen down.

Tanya's eyebrows flew up. "All right. I'll leave you to it," she said as she grabbed up her bag and left the Salon. Alyssa watched her go and sighed as she rested her chin on her fist, as she looked back down at her phone. She shouldn't have left the house before talking to Jack properly, she regretted now, it was all she could think about.

Jack finished up his work in the garden and then decided maybe he should take Alyssa to lunch. After her bombshell this morning, he had to know more. He still couldn't believe she'd left without talking to him properly.

He quickly cleaned up and changed clothes and set off for the salon.

He peered around the door when he got there and then slipped inside.

"Lyss?"

Alyssa looked up at the sound of Jack's voice and nodded at him. "Gimme a sec," she said quietly and then hurried upstairs. She looked around at the girls and spotted Gayna clearing her workstation.

"Gayna, I'm taking my lunch break, can you man the desk for me," she said and left quickly before Gayna could refuse. She looked at Jack and swallowed anxiously as she made her way towards him "I'm sorry I ran off this morning" she said "I just need to get my head around this" she added. For some reason she felt a little nervous around him, she supposed it was because she didn't know how he felt about her pregnancy, but she had her suspicions that his feelings would be different from hers.

"It's fine, look, I've got some food in this bag here so let's go to the park and find a quiet tree and talk, or we can go back home and have it in the garden," he said to her soothingly and slid his arm around her shoulders to give them a squeeze.

Alyssa leaned into him and slid an arm around his waist. She nodded. "Park, I think," she said quietly as she walked with him. She scanned the park and spotted a tree set aside from the rest of the people, Alyssa gently led Jack towards the tree and sat down at the base of it's trunk. She looked up at him and tugged on his hand until he was sat down next to her, and she watched his face.

"Jack, I need you to be honest with me," she said. "Please, just, tell me what you want me to do," she pleaded.

Jack sat down next to her and looked at her in surprise.

"Alyssa, what are you talking about? You don't want kids, I know that, I accepted that," he began and then broke off. He gave her a considering look and then took a deep breath.

"Or are you considering keeping the baby?" he asked.

Alyssa looked at him and sighed. "I've never been pregnant Jack, I've never had to get rid of a baby, and I don't want to take the opportunity for you to be a Dad away from you if you want it," she said. "I don't think I could," she added.

She looked at the floor for a moment. "I don't want kids, Jack, I never have, but a big part of that is because I'm scared," she admitted. "I'm scared because it's a huge responsibility, I'm scared because I'm afraid that I'll end up like my Mum and I don't want to be like her!" she said as she clenched her fists in the grass.

"So I need you tell me whether or not you want this baby," she said to him earnestly.

"Lyss," Jack said softly and pulled her to him. "I would love to have a child with you. Yes, it's a big responsibility, but we'd be doing it together. And look how brilliant you are with Claire and Denis," he reassured. He leaned back and put a hand to her cheek.

"I personally don't think you are going to end up like your mum," he said with a small shake of his head. He lifted a hand and stroked her hair. "You're too fiery tempered for one thing," he added and then grinned.

He took her face in both his hands and lifted it so she was looking into his eyes. "I will not stop you from not having the baby, though. I married you knowing full well that kids weren't in our future. I love you, Alyssa and that's not going to change," he said and kissed her softly.

Alyssa took a deep breath as he broke the kiss and let it out as a sigh. She looked up at him and nodded.

"Ok," she whispered. "So, you're saying you don't mind either way," she clarified quietly. She nodded again and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug as she rested her forehead on his shoulder and sighed again. He didn't mind if she kept the baby, he didn't mind if she got rid of it. She didn't know what to do. No matter what he said she had a suspicion that getting rid of the baby would upset him. With another sigh she pulled herself away from him and leaned against the tree, eyeing the bag he had brought with him.

"What's for eating?" she asked him, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

Jack could see Alyssa doubted his words.

"Lyss, I mean it. It wouldn't be fair of me to be angry with you if you terminate. I knew full well your feelings before we got married and if it was a problem I would not have married you, okay?" he said forcefully. She needed to know he would support her whatever her decision, though he would be ecstatic if she chose to keep it. He didn't want resentment between them if she kept the baby and regretted it. He simply couldn't bear it.

Alyssa nodded. "Okay," she said quietly, a small smile covering her face.

"Well, I made some ham sandwiches and there's a salad and …..oh look, chocolate cake!" he told her as he pulled some things out and grinned.

Alyssa couldn't help but smile at him as he unpacked the food and she reached for one of the sandwiches. She was still going to have to think about this; she knew that he would be disappointed if she got rid of the child, but she was a little relived knowing that he wouldn't hate her if she got rid of it. When, she got rid of it, not if. She sighed inwardly, she wasn't going to think about keeping this child, she didn't want to. She wasn't going to.

Peggy looked at Phil as he ate his way through his lunch.

"So, the gym going all right for you?" she asked. Phil nodded and took another bite.

"Think I found someone to help train and Jay's gonna work there now that's he's off school," he told her.

Peggy smiled. She hadn't minded helping Phil get the money to do his boxing gym idea, not once he'd finally put the effort in to getting clean. She put it down to Ian's unexpected return from the US with Ben. Suddenly, Phil was making an effort and since Pat and Ricky weren't willing to have Phil back at the garage, Phil had needed something to do. When he'd come up with this gym idea, Peggy had been fully supportive.

"Well, that's great news, darlin'," Peggy told him and patted him on the shoulder as she passed him to go and gather empty glasses.

"So how are things going at the shop?" Rowan asked Jodie when the girl came in to pick up lunch.

"All right, I like it better than working on a stall," Jodie told her and paid for the food before going back to the shop.

She noticed a willowly brunette sitting in the corner booth who kept staring at James. Rowan smirked and walked over to him.

"Looks like your admirer is back," Rowan teased and jerked her chin in the girl's direction as Nora giggled.

"She's in your section," Nora sing-songed, joining in and Rowan chuckled.

"Will you two stop?" James huffed, feigning annoyance and went over to take the order.

Rowan and Nora looked at each other and grinned before going about their business.

Rowan wandered into the kitchen and wondered if Ray was going to be coming in for lunch or eating at the station. She checked her phone. No texts yet.

"I'm back!" Jodie called out as she got back to the shop. Whitney came out of the back room and gratefully took her food from Jodie.

"Thanks, Jo."

"Sure. Oh, and I talked to my Mum. She loves the outfit and she's going out today to lunch with some women she knows to show it off. She'll make sure they know where she got it."

"Oh, thanks, Jodie, really."

Jodie waved her hand. "It's no trouble and Mum loved the idea of getting such a nice outfit at a discount," Jodie told her.

"Well, I'm really glad I got to meet her, she seems nice."

Whitney opened her laptop and checked for orders on the website as she ate her food.

"Okay, I've got to go and pick up some material and drop those boxes at the post office. Shouldn't be gone more than a couple of hours."

Jodie nodded and looked back at the magazine she was flipping through. Whitney shook her head, picked up her handbag and the boxes and went outside just as Charlie was pulling up.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Bolton did a double take as he spotted a familiar girl getting into the cab. Her hair was different but he was pretty sure that it was Whitney. He smiled, she was still living around here then, he was glad. She was part of the reason that he had moved down here, his DJ career had been going nowhere while he had been living up in Manchester, but down here he reckoned he stood a better chance of getting somewhere with it. However, he had found a Gym not far away and had applied for a job there, he had been given the job as a Boxing Coach and he was happy of it. He could train people during in the day and doing some DJ-ing on the side at night. His 2 favourite activities.

Now he just needed to find out whether or not Whitney was still single. The last time he had seen her she had to call on her if he was ever around, he was intending to hold her to that. He grinned, she'd come out of that shop, but now he knew that she was still around he would have an easier time of looking out for her. Bolton kicked at a stone on the pavement and chuckled to himself as he continued on his way.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Rowan checked her phone again, still nothing from Ray.

"You coming here for lunch or going elsewhere?" she texted him and quickly shoved her phone back in her pocket. She'd hold off making something for him until she heard back. She set about finely chopping chicken for chicken salad and found herself wondering when Ray was going to bring marriage up again. She loved Ray and she wanted to be with him for the rest of her life, but she didn't want to get married. She couldn't seem to get him to understand. She had told him she would willingly take him back to Virginia and handfast him, but she didn't feel she needed some piece of paper saying she was legally wed.

Ray's mother didn't seem bothered that they weren't married. The twins had their father's name. Why wasn't that enough? She shook her head and focused back on the chicken.

"You all right, Rowan?" she heard Syed ask from behind her. She glanced up.

"Yes, I'm fine, just...thinking. How are things for you?"

"Good, Christian and I might be getting a child soon," he told her.

"It's only been what...a two year wait?" she asked him. "I'm glad you're finally getting good news."

"Yooo hooo, I need three steak sandwiches," James called over and waved the ticket before hanging it up.

Rowan shook her head.

"You do see Trevor standing right there?" she asked him.

James looked around. "Ummmmm."

"Get back out there," Rowan ordered in a jokey tone and looked back at Syed.

"We need more chips and can you put that tray of chicken pot pies in the oven?"

Syed nodded and got to work while Rowan took the chicken over to the prep table and then helped Trevor with the sandwiches.

Whitney finished at the post office and texted Molly as Charlie drove her back towards the shop.

"Appt today? Good luck. Let me know," she sent and the climbed out of the cab as Charlie pulled up in front of the shop. She handed Charlie the money and climbed out of the cab.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Peter left the pub the minute lunch rush was over and hurried to the flat. He bounded up the stairs and rushed into the flat.

"Molls, you here?" he called out as he entered the flat.

Molly looked up from her essay as her phone went off. She really needed to learn to turn it off while she was working. She read Whitney's text regardless and smiled as she sent one back. "I'll pop round later, need to get away from this essay anyway."

"I'm here!" she called back to Peter as she stood up and came out of the bedroom.

"Ready to go?" he asked her. "I booked Charlie to drive us over to the hospital."

Molly smiled and nodded at him. "I'm ready," she said as she took his hand and smiled at him broadly. She squeezed his hand gently. "Is Charlie here?" she asked him.

Peter nodded and led her out of the flat and helped her into the cab. He held her hand tightly as they rode to the hospital. He was really nervous about these tests. He knew he shouldn't be, but he still was.

He handed Charlie the money and slid out of the cab and headed for the door to hold it open for Molly.

Molly smiled at Peter as she got out of the cab and thanked Charlie. She took his hand as she looked up at the Hospital, she felt a bit nervous now she was here, but Peter was with her. She'd be fine. Molly smiled at him again as she pulled on his hand gently and headed inside.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Ray looked at his phone and snorted at her text.

"There of course!" he replied and put his phone down. Where else would he go? He chuckled to himself, the Restaurant meant he got the best food around, he got to see Rowan and he was practically at home. It was by far the best thing.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Rowan paused as she heard her phone go off and quickly fished it from her pocket. She read Ray's text and couldn't help but smile.

"Starting to make it then, best get here soon," she sent back and returned to her cooking.

Ray smiled at her text and glanced at the time. He shrugged and kept half an eye on the clock as he worked his way through his paperwork. He stood up and dropped his pen the second it got to his lunch break and marched out of the office. Ray sighed, Rowan had taken the car, he was going to have to walk home. He hummed to himself as he went and lost himself in his thoughts. Rowan was refusing to marry him, they'd spoken about it and she didn't want to. He couldn't help but feel upset over it, he just wanted her in his life forever, and he didn't want another man touching her. But she was refusing to marry him. What was he supposed to do? He supposed he'd just keep trying until she said yes.

Ray looked up at the Restaurant as he reached it and moved inside, waving at Rowan as he spotted her in the kitchen. He weaved through the people already inside the Restaurant and headed straight for the kitchen, making sure to keep out of the way of any of the staff that were busy. He tapped Rowan on the shoulder and glanced around. "Whatcha cooking?" he asked her curiously and patted his stomach. "I'm hungry," he told her, attempting a pathetic look.

Rowan glanced over at him and carried some plates to the pass bar.

"You, if you sneak up on me again like that," Rowan said without turning and looking at Ray. She knew full well he was trying to look pathetic, it was in the tone of his voice.

"Go, sit," she said and pointed at the table they kept in the kitchen. He could sit there and not take any space from the floor. She watched him sit from the corner of her eye, but kept her attention focused on the pan in front of her.

"I have made you a tuna melt and chips," she told him and finally looked at him. She flashed him a smile and brought over the plate, kissing him as she put the plate down.

"I do hope work is going well today," she said brightly and then went back over to the stove to begin another order.

Ray watched her go and sighed. He missed spending the whole of lunch time with her, he grabbed the plate and pulled it towards him grumpily. Hopefully she'd come back over once the rush was over. Ray bit into the Tuna Melt as he kept his gaze fixed on the Rowan. He supposed he should ease up about the whole marriage thing, but he wanted it so much. He sighed as he ate his way through his meal unenthusiastically.

"Yeah. Same old, same old really. Chris said you and Shaz were planning another SciFi thing this weekend so we were just making some plans," he shrugged.

"I would imagine those plans involve the pub," she teased and sighed with relief when she saw Trevor finish up the last of the orders. She glanced out at the floor again and walked back over to sit down at the table. She reached over and swiped one of his last few chips off the plate and ate it.

"How's stuff here? Claire, Denis and Olivia go in okay?" he asked.

"Busy as usual," she told him after she'd swallowed. "The kids went fine, though I thought Claire was going to get muley again. The looks Denis gives her when she acts like that just make me giggle. It's the same look you get on your face when you get annoyed."

She propped her elbow on the table and dropped her chin into her hand. "He looks like you and she acts like you," she kidded him and fluttered her lashes, before taking her chin from her hand, grabbing hold of his collar and pulling him to her for a kiss.

"Hey, get a room, people are eating," James snorted as he brought a stack of dirty plates back, his remark drawing a bark of laughter from Trevor.

"Aww, James, you're just jealous," Rowan shot back and looked back at Ray.

"Too right, I am," James joked back and chuckled.

"The twins decided we should have pizza tonight, so can you stop at that little place down the road on your way home from work and pick one up? I'll call it in so it'll be ready," she said and noticed Mercy coming back with another couple of orders.

"I better get back to it," she sighed and patted Ray's cheek before heading back to the cooktop.

Ray nodded agreeably at her and smirked at James' back over Rowan's shoulder.

"Fine by me. Just make sure whatever you order for me has some sort of meat on it," he smiled at her as he watched her go. He sighed and pushed the food around his plate. He watched the goings on in the kitchen for a bit, his gaze finally coming to rest on Rowan's back. He shook his head, he wanted to marry her. He would marry her. Ray chewed his lip as he thought and finally shovelled another forkful of food into his mouth.

"Of course it will have meat on it," Rowan snorted. "What do you take me for?"

An idea came to him as he chewed and her hand caught his attention. He smiled broadly through his mouthful. That was what he would do. Yes. He cleaned all the food off his plate and into his mouth then dodged around the kitchen staff to put his plate in the washer.

She glanced over at him and noticed he had an odd smile on his face. Her brow furrowed, but she got distracted by her cooking before she could ask him about it.

He turned and moved over to Rowan, his hands resting lightly on her hips as he pressed his lips to her cheek.

"I'll pick up the pizzas from the shop," he promised. "Have fun cooking," he smiled at her.

Ray let go of her and turned to leave, he looked back over his shoulder to grin at her as he left. Now he had this idea he could hardly wait. He was excited, and a little nervous. But mainly excited. He waved briefly as he left the restaurant and headed back to work.

She flashed him a quick smile at the feel of his lips on her cheek. "Oh, of course I will," she said a bit dryly and put a plate up on the pass-through so she could watch him walk away. These three years they had been together were probably the happiest she'd ever been in her life. She still couldn't believe what she'd thought was a very enjoyable one night stand would end up being the best thing that had ever happened to her.

She smiled to herself and went about starting to tidy up the kitchen.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Jack ate his sandwich quietly, occasionally glancing at Alyssa.

"So, how about…" he began, "we go to the cottage after you, um, take care of things?" he asked her. "Just the two of us?" He reached over and squeezed her hand before pulling another sandwich out.

She would no doubt want time alone and he wanted to be there for her. The cottage would be perfect. It would give her the perfect excuse to avoid people without telling them why.

Alyssa narrowed her eyes at him. Take care of things? What was that supposed to mean? She frowned in confusion and opened her mouth, then shut it again. She sighed, her brow still creased as she stared at him.

"Take care of things...?" she repeated slowly "So..." she trailed off as she couldn't find the words and shook her head.

Alyssa looked back up at him and nodded. "Sure," she said quietly, the corners of her mouth curving slightly, but her brow still creased in a small frown as she reached for another sandwich and pulled off the crust.

"If that's what you want to do," he told her and took her hand. "I don't want to pressure you and make you feel I expect one thing or the other. It wouldn't be fair to you, and I love you too much to treat you like that," he kissed her hand and then let it go so she could eat. "But I think no matter what you decide, we should have some alone time."

Alyssa nodded at him as she chewed.

"Okay," she said quietly as she stared off to look at another part of the park, her gaze following the people as the ambled along. She looked back at Jack and smiled softly. "I like the idea of going up to the cottage," she told him. "A little holiday," she smiled.

"I thought you might," he grinned at her. He fully intended to spoil her.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Lauren walked into the restaurant and sat in James' section. She was sure he would notice her sometime, she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a career woman, sort of, who was going places, maybe. She was an adult now at any rate. She gave him a flirtatious smile that he seemed to ignore and ordered her food.

She loved living off the Square away from her mum and dad. They were insufferable now that they were back together. She thought it made Abi sick sometimes, too. But she loved sharing a flat with Whitney, even if they didn't have a proper front room. They usually went out instead of having people over. Whitney always seemed to manage to finagle invites to great parties to promote her shop and her designs, and she always took Lauren as her plus one.

She thanked James when he brought her food over and then watched him flit about his section of the restaurant and wished he'd notice her.

/\\/\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\

Lucy finished putting up her hair and flicked her fingers across her fringe to get it to lay straight. She stood in front of the mirror and turned from side to side to see how the uniform looked and sighed. Somehow during her time away, she'd gotten herself sorted out and began to take some more classes and she'd spent the last two years working on a criminal justice degree.

After a lot of interviews and more interviews, she'd finally been taken on as a trainee police officer, back here in Walford. She'd heard from Peter that their father was back, but she had no intention of going to him. She'd managed to get herself a decent little bedsit not far from the station.

The man who'd agreed to let her become a trainee finally, DSI Hunt, had hinted she might be able to get into CID, apparently her brains had impressed him. She was still taking Open University classes to fit around her work schedule. CID sounded very interesting. He had thought it odd when she didn't want her father told, but he'd agreed. She would tell her father when it suited her, not before.

She glanced at the clock. He'd told her to be there at 1:00 and she had no intention of being late. She headed out of the flat and to the station, arriving early. She nodded at Adam and went to DSI Hunt's office.

"Good afternoon, sir, PC Trainee Lucy Beale reporting," she told him and gave him a professional smile. He looked up at her, nodded and then looked back down at the file.

"Have a seat," he said and gestured at one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Nearly done."

After a few minutes, he closed the folder.

"Okay, let's show you around and you can meet the officer you will be training with. And as I said before, if I see good things from you, I'll see about having you brought over to CID. I could use another good person on my team."

Lucy nodded and at his gesture, left his office.

He showed her all over the station and introduced her around and then left her in PC Williams capable hands as her training officer.

He then went in search of Alex, finding her at her desk as usual.

"I'm ready for lunch, how about you?" he said and waited.

Alex looked up from her phone as she saw Gene head towards her. She nodded as she stood up and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair. "Yeah," she nodded as she checked her phone. Alex pocketed it with a sigh and looked up at him.

"Still no word from Molls, she's got that appointment today," she said to him as she stepped out from behind her desk and patted his arm as she passed him and headed out of the office, she paused at the doorway.

"I don't see why they don't just stop trying for awhile," Gene grunted. "Molly's got enough on her plate, I think."

Alex sighed and shrugged. "She's stubborn, Gene," she said with a small smile. "No matter how hard you try she's not likely to change her mind. Cafe? Or Rowan's?" she asked.

He looked at Alex and pondered her question a moment then glanced at his watch again.

"I'm thinking Rowan's will be fine. It's late enough the worst of the rush will be over," he suggested and began walking in that direction.

"The new trainee PC started today. Still can't believe that Lucy Beale decided to become an officer. She was a bit of a troublemaker from what I heard. She's very smart and very sharp. I think she'll go far if she puts her mind to it. I've got her training with Williams and I've been thinking about the possibility of bringing her onto our team. Maybe you could mentor her a bit, sort of encourage her. I think she'd do well with all that psychology business," he told her.

Alex walked alongside him and nodded.

"Beale?" she asked curiously. "As in Peter's sister?" she added with a small smile. "I don't mind training her up in the ways of Criminal Psychology, the more people we have that know about it the better as far as I'm concerned," she smiled. "We can see if she'll do a course in it as well as her training if she's interested," she suggested.

Alex chewed her lip in thought as they walked. "She's got to do her 2 year probationary period in Uniform before we can consider her for CID though, Gene," she said with a small shrug. "But that should give her enough time to do a bit of extra training in Criminal Psychology if she'd like," she smiled at him.

"Yes, as in Peter's sister," he nodded. "I'm well aware of that, Bolls, but a little extra mentoring never hurt anyone. Something tells me she could be a good cop. We shouldn't waste it. I think she's already done a course, so why don't you talk to her a bit when we get back from lunch. Get to know her," he suggested.

Alex nodded agreeably. "Fine by me," she smiled.

"I'm picking up Sam today, Joanna's on holiday as of last night," she told him as they reached the Restaurant. "So I'm leaving work early," she told him and smiled at him and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Just in case you wonder why I've suddenly disappeared," she said with a small grin. "And his nursery teacher wanted to talk to me about something, too," she added with a small shrug.

"What now?" Gene couldn't help but groan as he dropped into a booth. He nodded at Nora and ordered tea and began to idly tap the table as he waited.

"What now?" Gene couldn't help but groan as he dropped into a booth. He nodded at Nora and ordered tea and began to idly tap the table as he waited.

"Well I don't know do I!" she retorted back with a small scowl and then sighed with a shrug. Sam had been having some problems with some of the other children, bullying. She sat back against the seat and looked at Gene, considering how much Sam was like his father she thought that they would have had problems with Sammy being the bully. But no, it was the other way around: her little Sammy was being bullied by the other children. She'd tried talking to him about it, given him tips and advice, but how much could you really expect from a 4 year old?

Alex glanced at the menu resting on the table for a moment and refused to pick it up. They ate here so often that she knew almost everything on the menu, and had sampled most of it too. She moved her gaze back up to Gene.

"I think he's still having problems with the other children," she said sadly.

Gene frowned again. His son….being bullied. Sammy was a Hunt. He wasn't supposed to get bullied. He was tempted to have Alex find Sammy another school. He huffed out another breath and ordered meatloaf and mash to eat and took a gulp of his tea.

"Maybe we should find a different nursery?" he suggested. "Why can't he go to the one Ray and Chris' kids go to?" That was one thing he hadn't understood at all. He knew those kids and they all got along, well, as long as the other children seemed to let that little Claire run everything. That girl was a right little madam. She had the bossy streak he'd noticed in Rowan in full and Ray's stubbornness. He didn't envy his DI at all. However, the little girl seemed to worship her father and seemed willing to do as he told her, Rowan confessed Claire was not the same at all with herself.

Gene shook his head and gazed at Alex as he waited for her answer.

Alex sighed. "We've been through this Gene, there's very little point in moving him now, he starts school next September and it's not fair on him to move him from nursery to nursery just because he's got a small problem," she told him calmly, she'd explained this to him before, but he was relentless when it came to this subject. Sure, she'd like to move Sam to the same Nursery that Claire, Denis and Olivia went to, but that wasn't going to teach Sam anything, he had to learn to deal with his problems, not expect a magic wand to solve them for him.

"If he learns how to deal with bullies now then he'll have less of an issue when he's older. He just needs to be strong and ignore it until they go away and leave him alone," she said as calmly as she could. It upset her that Sam was being bullied, he was her son and it wasn't fair. The one time she'd sat in his room and hugged him tightly while he cried because one of the other boys had drowned his toy lorry in the water bowl. It hadn't been damaged but Sammy had been so upset. That had been the last time that Alex had let him take his own toys to nursery with him.

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

Lucy listened intently to PC Williams as they walked around the Square. Not much had changed she noticed. She'd avoided coming to the Square since she'd got the flat nearby, choosing to shop and eat near the High Street which wasn't too far. Now, she was ready to face the Square.

She knew her brother was living with that girl Molly. She remembered Molly well. They'd had a bit of a disagreement at that party. She smiled. But the girl had stuck it out. Lucy had to give her credit for that. She might just be good enough for her brother then. She kept her hat pulled slightly low, and though she hadn't changed much over the years, she'd changed enough that many people weren't recognizing her. It made her chuckle. Why would they ever think Lucy Beale would be walking around in the uniform of a police officer? They wouldn't.

Her cover was blown however, when they went into the café to get a couple of teas to go. Jane had peered at her curiously for several minutes and then her jaw had dropped.

"Lucy?" Jane yelped. Lucy couldn't help but smile and gave a small nod. Jane bolted around the counter and wrapped Lucy in a hug.

"Please, Jane, I can't breathe," Lucy gasped out and Jane quickly released her.

"When did you get back, and what…you're a PC?" she asked hurriedly.

"About a month ago, and a trainee just now," Lucy corrected.

"You've been here a month?"

"Yeah, I needed to work up to coming back and seeing everyone so I've mostly stayed around my flat."

"Have you seen your father?" Jane asked cautiously and Lucy took a sip of her tea and shook her head.

"Not yet. Don't know if I really want to if I'm honest."

"You really should."

Lucy made a dismissive gesture and took another sip of her tea.

"I'm planning to see Peter though."

"He'd love that. He should be here in a couple of hours. He helps me out in the evenings so I can do my gigs," Jane explained.

Lucy nodded. "I should be done by then. I'll make sure to stop by, in my uniform," she grinned and Jane chuckled at the sight of the "old" Lucy.

"C'mon, Beale, back to work," Williams broke in and Lucy looked at Jane and shrugged.

"Bye."

"Good to see you, Lucy," Jane called after her and shook her head. She would never have guessed it.

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

Peter smiled at Molly. He was nervous. He hoped everything was okay. Jane had told him sometimes the pressure of trying to have a baby could stop it happening and that there might be nothing wrong with either of them. They should just relax. Peter wondered if they shouldn't go ahead and put off having a baby, at least until Molly had finished her courses and didn't have so much going on. Between running the club for Roxy and her coursework, she was always busy. He worried she might be overwhelmed.

Molly sighed as they came out of the hospital and she looked around, releasing her hair from the pony tail she had put it in when they had gone inside. She sighed as she looked at Peter and reached over to slide her hand into his and she squeezed gently. Molly moved closer and gave him a soft kiss

"We're okay," she smiled as she stroked his fringe off his forehead.

"I guess we should just do what the doctor said, eh?" Peter said as he slung an arm around her. "Have less stress," he said and then chuckled. They both had so much on, he wasn't sure less stress was possible.

"We'll just stop trying so hard and focus on us and see what happens."

He waved at Charlie as he pulled up in the cab and opened the door for her.

"If you're not working tonight, why don't we get everyone together and go out?"

Molly smiled. "I hope that means more cuddles on the sofa and lie-ins on a Sunday," she smiled at him as she fitted her arm around his waist.

Molly climbed into the cab with a quick 'hello' to Charlie then turned to Peter and nodded at him eagerly. "Good idea!" she agreed. "We haven't had a big night out in ages!" she exclaimed. "I'll text Whit, you get onto Fats and we'll pull everyone together," she said happily.

Molly whipped out her phone and sent a text off to Whitney. "Up for a night out tonight?"

She snapped her phone shut and dropped it back into her bag as she smiled at Peter happily.

"As long as we don't have to work, I'm all for lie-ins," he agreed.

He nodded at her and sent off a text to Fatboy as the cab pulled away from the curb. "You and Merce up for a night out?"

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

Whitney dug through the pile of material until she found her phone and grinned as she read Molly's text.

"YES!-will text Lauren," she sent back and quickly shot off a text to Lauren, who wholeheartedly agreed. Whitney began to hum under her breath as she dropped her phone in her pocket and set to sewing just a bit faster.

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

Peter gave Molly a quick kiss as Charlie dropped him near the café. "I'll see you later," he said and turned and walked right into someone.

"Oh, sorry," he said and stepped back. Great, it was a lady cop. He looked from her to the male officer who was a few paces back and swallowed hard.

Suddenly, she laughed. "You never watch where you're going, do you Petey?" a familiar voice asked. She took off her hat and Peter couldn't help the gasp and then his shout of joy.

"LUCY!" he cried and grabbed her into a hug. He never thought he'd be so happy to see his sister on the Square again. He'd not been able to go visit her since their father had returned and then she'd said she was busy with Uni courses and it had been two years since he'd seen her.

"You look fantastic," he said and hugged her tight. She couldn't help but laugh.

"I've missed you too, bro, but I can't breathe," she told him and he quickly let her go.

"So, what's up with this?" he gestured at her uniform.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "The courses sounded interesting and so I took one and next thing I know, I'm buying coffees and talking to every passing cop I meet who has a minute to spare. I signed on as soon as I could. I'm at Walford station," she told him. She gestured behind her. "That's PC Williams, he's showing me the ropes," she explained.

"Have you seen dad yet?" he asked her as he led her into the café.

"No, I've not really been looking forward to it," she admitted.

"I'm not surprised, though now he'll probably think he can get away with anything now that there's an officer in the family."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "There's that, too. I only have a minute, but I'm done at 6:00 if you want to get together later," she suggested, half question, half statement.

"Actually, Molly and I and our friends are going to go out tonight, you should come along. You know everyone anyway so it'll be like a reunion," he told her.

She thought a moment and then nodded slowly. "You're on. Meet you here when I'm done for the day."

She quickly gave him a hug and then smiled hugely before heading out.

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

Rowan glanced at the time and hurriedly finished putting the load of dishes she'd washed away and slung her apron on its hook.

"Be back," she told Syed and Trevor and hustled off to pick up the kids. She smiled as the twins immediately turned, dropped what they were doing and ran to her.

"Mama, I drawed for Dada," Claire announced.

"I'm sure he'll be very happy to see it," Rowan told her. She looked at Denis.

"How about you? Did you draw anything?" she asked him.

"He drawed one for Livvie," Claire said with a giggle and Rowan looked at her.

"Claire, let Denis answer for himself okay?"

Claire rolled her eyes and flounced away to collect her things. Rowan sighed and looked at Denis.

"Yes, I gave it to Liv," he answered.

"Did she like it?"

He nodded. She helped Olivia gather her things, making much of the drawings and then carried Olivia to the car with Claire and Denis close at her heels. She got them loaded up and then headed back to the restaurant. She hustled them in the side entrance and up to the flat. She knew how rowdy they could get once they got home. She put Olivia in the high chair and made the twins sit still while she got them all a snack and then called down to the restaurant to let them know she was back and upstairs with the kids.

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

Whitney sighed with relief when she was finally able to close up shop for the day. She hurried upstairs and chose out some outfits for herself and Lauren and then quickly got ready for going out.

"Yoooohoooo!" Lauren called as she bounded up the stairs.

"Hey, catch," Whit said and tossed the dress at Lauren as she came through the door.

"Oh, epic, you finished it!" Lauren exclaimed and dumped her things on one of the two recliners in the front room and went to try it on. "How do I look?"

"Amazing, of course," Whitney replied and grinned.

"Any idea where we're going?"

"Nope, we can ask Peter when we get to the café," Whitney answered with a shake of her head.

"He said he had a surprise for us tonight," Lauren said.

"Huh, didn't know anything about that," Whitney remarked and pulled the door shut behind her. "What do you suppose it is?"

Lauren shrugged. "You think maybe Molls is pregnant?"

Whitney thought it over. "That would be a reason to celebrate."

"Yes, it would," Lauren agreed and hastened her pace.

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

Fatboy looked down at his phone and grinned

"DEFFO!"

He smiled as he dropped his phone behind the counter and looked up at a customer to serve them. He waved them off with a cheeky smile and grabbed up his phone again as he glanced around to make sure that the Chippy was empty. He smiled and sent off a text to Mercy.

"P-Dog says Night out. You up for it? x"

Mercy smiled down at her phone and sent one back. "Sure x"

Fats grinned and dropped his phone again. The Gang was going out on the town. He couldn't wait, it had been too long since they'd all gone out together as a group.

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

Ray packed up his stuff and grabbed his jacket as he looked at the time. He grinned as he rose from his desk and stretched, groaning slightly as he did so. He sighed as he trudged down the corridor and poked his head around the door to the open office.

"Oi! Mrs. DS Skelton," he said.

Shaz looked up, and smiled at Ray. "That time already huh?" she smiled as she shut down her computer and headed over to Chris.

"My turn to get Olivia from Rowan's, we'll see you when you get home," she smiled at him as she kissed him.

"Oi, get a move on Shazza!" Ray growled out.

"All right, Mr Grumpy Pants," she snapped back as she stood and ruffled Chris' hair affectionately as she moved past his desk to follow Ray out.

Chris nodded and swiped ineffectively at Shaz' hand before tossing her the car keys. At least she'd said please this time.

"I'll get tea on then shall I?" he teased and grinned at her as she left. He quickly put away his paper work and then half-ran home so he could get things started. He wasn't a good cook, but he could at least get things ready for Shaz, who was.

Ray looked up at Shaz as she got into her car and he frowned at her. "What's that look for?" he asked as she started up the car and pulled away from the Station. Shaz merely smirked.

"You called me Shazza," she said simply as she put her seatbelt on and focused on the road, her eyes dancing with amusement.

Ray scowled at her, mentally cursing himself, he shrugged nonchalantly "So?" he sniffed.

"You never call me Shazza, Ray," Shaz replied. "Proves what you keep denying, you actually like me, no matter how much you try to dispute it," she said.

Shaz pulled up outside the Restaurant and Ray got out of the car. He left Shaz to it as he hurried upstairs and kicked his shoes off once he got into the flat. "HEY!" he called out and headed into the kitchen, taking note of Olivia in the high chair and he smiled at Rowan as he went over and dropped a soft kiss on her lips.

Shaz followed Ray up and smiled as Ray made a beeline for Rowan, she headed over to the high chair and stroked her hand over Olivia's head. "How was nursery?" she asked as she bent to Olivia's level "Have you been good for Rowan?" she asked and Olivia nodded hastily.

Rowan smiled and kissed Ray back and then her brow furrowed as she noticed his empty hands.

"Where are the pizzas?" she asked him and heard two huffs of indignation behind her and glanced to the side a bit to see the twins' gazes both focused on their father. Claire's arms were crossed and her face was a storm. Denis simply looked put out. Rowan tilted her head and looked at Ray again before looking over at Shaz.

"They've been behaving very well since they got home. So much so that I took them down for a snack in the restaurant," Rowan told Shaz.

"He didn't even ask if you'd stop so he could pick up the pizzas, did he?" she asked, knowing Ray would attempt to blame Shaz.

"Oh ffff..." he trailed off as he heard the two angry noises behind him, he turned and smiled bashfully at the twins "...fffirst," he remedied quickly. "I decided to come home and see if any of you lot wanted to come with me to help carry home the pizza?" he offered and gave Rowan an apologetic look. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Sorry," he whispered into her ear and then turned back to the twins.

"Which one of you is coming with me, or are you both staying here with your Mam?" he asked.

Shaz rolled her eyes at Rowan as she lifted Olivia out of the high chair and into her arms. "He didn't mention anything about pizza," she said quietly to Rowan and then chuckled at the sight of Ray practically pleading. She felt Olivia tug gently on her hair and smiled "How about we go home and see Daddy?". Shaz smiled at Olivia's eager nod and looked back over at Rowan.

"Thanks, Ro," she grinned. "Text me what time you're coming over for our Sci-Fi marathon," she added as she grabbed up Claire's bag.

Ray waved briefly at Shaz and Olivia then looked back at the twins, standing up to his full height "Well, which one of you two little troublemakers want's to come and help your poor Dad with these pizzas?" he asked with another apologetic glance over at Rowan.

Claire's piercing shriek as the little girl thrust her hand in the air made Rowan wince.

"Yeah," Rowan said to Shaz. "I didn't think he had. I will, I'm thinking a couple of hours."

Rowan looked at Ray again as he repeated his question. Claire squealed again and began to bounce in her chair. Denis solemnly raised his hand, too.

"Me will," he said simply, showing far more decorum than his sister.

Rowan leaned back to check they still had their shoes on and nodded at Ray. "Shoes are on," she told him and walked up to him. "They better not be cold, mister," she warned him and poked him in the chest with her finger before turning to gather the crayons up from the table and put them back in their plastic container.

Ray gave Rowan another bashful smile before ushering his children out the door, grabbing his shoes and slipping them on as he went. He got the twins into the car and made sure they were both strapped in safely before driving along to the pizza take out.

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

Whitney and Lauren bounded into the café and grinned at Peter.

"Are we ready?" Whitney asked excitedly.

Peter nodded.

"Yeah, I'm almost done. We're all meeting up with Molly at R&R," he told them.

"So, what's this big surprise?" Lauren asked in a wheedling tone.

"You'll find out when we get to the club," he replied and turned to finish washing up.

Whitney groaned in annoyance, but said nothing. She leaned against the counter near the door with Lauren and waited for Peter to finish so they could leave. Once he was done, they followed him to the club and went to the bar to get drinks while Peter went to the office to see Molly.

"We're here," he told her as he peered around the door.

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

Lucy took a deep breath and went into the club. She spotted all but Peter at the bar. It was so weird to see them now. She took another breath and walked over to the group. She stopped and folded her arms.

"So, who's going to buy me a welcome back drink?" she asked and waited.

Whitney and Lauren both turned and Lauren gasped.

"Oh, my god, Lucy!" she cried.

"That's me," Lucy replied and chuckled when Lauren hugged her.

"You came back."

"I finally did, yes. Sort of expected, isn't it?"

"It's good to see you," Whitney said and then turned to order Lucy a drink.

"So, what have you been doing these past few years?"

"Well, lazed about for a while, then grew up a little bit and decided to do something with my life. Went to Uni for awhile and stumbled on some criminal justice courses, and when I finished, I signed on."

Lauren gaped at her and then burst into laughter. Lucy rolled her eyes and shook her head.

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

Molly smiled at Peter as she looked up and then stood up from her seat behind the desk. She grabbed the files and locked them in the cabinet before moving out and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Took you long enough," she teased as she kissed him and let go.

Peter made a raspberry at her and backed up teasingly when she came to kiss him before kissing her back.

Molly shut the door to the office and locked it behind her before moving over to the bar and placing the keys behind the counter. She stepped back out and smiled as she made her way over to Whitney and Lauren. "Heya," she grinned as she ordered herself a drink.

"I should tell you…" he trailed off though as she headed off towards Whitney and Lauren. He'd wanted to warn her about Lucy, although all that unpleasantness had been years ago, really.

"Hey, Molls," Whitney greeted as Lauren kept talking to Lucy. "Did everything go all right?"

Peter ordered a drink and watched Lauren and Lucy talk with Fatboy and Mercy. He just hoped Molly wouldn't overreact. Surely, it was unnecessary after all this time to hold a grudge…at least he hoped so.

Molly smiled at Whitney and nodded. "Just stress, nothing to worry about at all," she said with a content smile as she sipped her drink. She looked at Lauren and frowned as she noticed the blonde haired girl that she was talking to. She looked familiar.

"Whit, who is.." Molly trailed off as she caught a look at the blonde girls face in full and recognised her. Her eyes widened and she gasped as she turned back to Whitney.

"That's never Lucy!" she said quietly as she sneaked another look.

Whitney gave a small giggle and nodded. "It is," she replied and then leaned over. "She's a PC trainee with the Walford police," Whitney whispered, wondering what Molly might make of that.

Molly's eyebrows flew up, she nodded slowly as she looked at Lucy. A police officer? With her parents. She looked her over, her only experience of Lucy Beale was of her being a slapper and a bitch. She looked around for Peter and sighed softly. From her experience with Lucy, the girl didn't like her. But that had been years ago. She twirled her glass thoughtfully.

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

"ARTHUR!"

Mercy tapped her foot impatiently, she'd been ready for at least 10 minutes and he was still fussing around. She swore he took longer than her to get ready, no matter how much they argued over it, this proved it.

Fatboy finally sauntered down the stairs and grinned at her. "Come on, then, I'm ready."

Mercy rolled her eyes as she took his hand and practically yanked him out of the house.

Fatboy spotted their little crew instantly and made his way over, pulling Mercy with him.

"How goes it ladies..!" he drawled out, his cocky grin making an appearance. Mercy shook her head with a smile then spotted Lucy.

"Lucy! When did you get back?" she smiled as she gave her a quick hug.

Lucy had opened her mouth to say something else when she heard Fatboy. She hugged him back and chuckled.

"Yesterday, but I was busy so today is the first day I've been back on the Square," she replied blithely. Not a complete lie. "I had to start my job today, so, you know, here I am," she shrugged.

Lauren snorted and gave a low chuckle. "Yeah, she's a cop."

Lucy grinned at Fatboy at Lauren's pronouncement.

Fatboy frowned, a look of admiration and shock on his face.

"You're a cop?" he choked out, that may not be such a good thing. He got up to enough illegal things that his mates knew about, he hoped Lucy wouldn't rat him out to all her new police friends. He gulped anxiously and plastered his grin back over his face.

Lucy made a face at Fatboy. "You make that sound like a bad thing," she teased and grinned at Mercy.

Mercy grinned back at Lucy while Fatboy shuffled anxiously. "No...I mean, it's..." he failed to say.

Lauren snickered at Fatboy's discomfiture and got herself another drink and handed one to Mercy.

"Yeah, well, Mercy made an honest Fatboy out of him so I guess a rebel like you becoming a cop is a bit of a shock," Lauren joked. "Course, I have a sort of boring job doing admin for a law firm over off the High Street. Whit's the glamorous one, she's designing clothes, has her own shop and everything."

Lucy's eyebrows went up and she made an impressed face at Whitney who was talking with a familiar looking girl. She glanced at Peter and then back at the girl. So, Peter's girlfriend. She pondered for a moment. It couldn't be that same girl she'd had a dust up with years ago at the school party was it? If so, she was impressed. He'd never had a girlfriend for so long. She edged a bit closer to where Whitney and the girl were talking.

"So, how are things?" she asked. Normally she would just say something to the girl, introduce herself, but she'd learned to moderate her behavior a bit. She'd let the girl say something first, just in case the girl didn't remember Lucy. Lucy couldn't remember the girl's name. She had been pretty drunk though, if her hangover the next day, which she could remember, was anything to go by.

"Good," Whitney replied. "Be right back," she said and walked away from the bar, threading her way through the dancers towards the bathroom, leaving Molly and Lucy on their own. Surely nothing would kick off, and Peter was right there.

/\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\\\

Molly looked up at Lucy Beale as she came over and eyed the other girl warily. She glanced over at Peter, why did he look so nervous? Was Lucy likely to kick off? She narrowed her eyes slightly, but then smoothed out her features almost instantly.

"Lucy, right?" she asked though she already knew. "Whit told me you've joined the Police force?" she said questioningly, she supposed she should start a conversation especially seeing as Peter was watching them like a hawk.

Peter watched Whitney walk away and then focused in on Molly and his sister. He really hoped they would get along.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, and you're Molly. Looks like you've put up with my brother for a long time," she said and shot Peter a teasing smile. "Yes, I did. DSI Hunt was very nice. Gave me a tour of the station and everything today for my first day," she shrugged. "I think it's surprised most people, but I guess shocking people is still what I do best."

She took the glass of wine Lauren passed her and took a sip.

"So, when are you going to do the right thing and marry her, Petey?" she asked her brother and Peter rolled his eyes.

"We're saving up," he replied. "We're engaged though," he told her smugly and gestured at Molly's proper engagement ring he'd managed to finally get her a few months ago.

"Nice one," Lucy commented.

Molly smiled at Lucy "What did you think of DSI Hunt?" she asked curiously, she knew what Gene was like to live with but had no idea what he would be like to work with. Her Mum didn't give much away about that and Molly was pretty sure that Alex got away with quite a lot thanks to having her husband as her boss.

Lucy shrugged. "He seemed all right. Asked a lot of questions about things to do with police work. He's of a mind for me to look into criminal psychology."

She smiled up at Peter as he came over and looked down at her ring.

She glanced back up at Lucy "What about you?" she asked curiously "Are you with anybody?" she asked.

She took another sip of her drink. Lucy's eyes widened at Molly's question and she quickly swallowed her mouthful of wine and shook her head.

"No, I just can't be bothered with that right now," she replied and glanced over at the dance floor. "However, I think it's time to dance," she said and put her glass down on the bar and went to join Lauren and Whitney.

Peter watched Lucy head onto the dance floor and looked at Molly and slid an arm around her shoulders.

"I really worried you two would kick off," he told her in her ear so she would hear him over the music. "Let's go dance," he said and grabbed her hand to drag her over to the others.