Authors Note: This story follows on from 'A Summer Bay Wedding'. Please read, enjoy and review. - Tele

Story Title: The Darkness
Type of story: Long Fic
Main Characters: Roman and Ella, Geoff and Nicole, Aden and Belle, Gardy
Genre: Drama
Does story include spoilers: No
Any warnings: Sexual content, violence, language
Summary: What happens when your present is turned upside down by your past. This Fic may reference my previous fics The lost Letter and A Summer Bay Wedding.

Prologue

Gardy stood in the bushes outside Roman's house. It was late at night and he could hear the strains of laughter coming from inside. Soon, he promised himself, soon he would get his revenge on the other man. He crushed out the cigarette he was smoking under a booted foot and started to move away, stopping when he saw the door open. The blonde piece that was Roman's daughter stepped out. He wouldn't mind a piece of that he thought remembering the last time he was here and she was jailbait. He still managed to grab a feel though he thought his body stirring in response at the memory. She had her arms round the one called Geoff. His eyes narrowed as he watched them start to walk away and then the identity of the woman next to Roman struck him. 'Well, well,' he thought, 'things come full circle after all', as he recognised her. And that would be even better than stealing a bit from the other piece. Roman always did have a thing for that woman.

Suddenly the blonde, Nicole ran back to the door and placed a kiss on the other woman's cheek.

"Goodnight Step-mama!" she called. "Don't keep him up too late now you have the house to yourself!" and then ran back to the other man.

Gardy laughed out loud and then put his hand over his mouth to stifle the sound, even so he still saw his old mate look as though he was staring directly at him. "Dammit!" he swore softly, he would have to be more careful, his old mate wasn't as soft as he'd thought he was.

But now, now he had the perfect plan, he would take Roman's wife from him. Take her and kill her. And make Roman watch while he did so.

Chapter 1

"Ella." Roman said. "You knew this could happen."

She turned and without warning slapped him.

"Woah!" he said reeling from the blow. "I'm still officially in the reserves." He said explaining for the forth time.

"And what about your children?" she asked, subconsciously placing her hand on her stomach. "Where are they sending you?" she added in the next breath.

"Afghanistan." He said flatly.

"You're too old." She said bitterly. "And you are out of shape."

"Woah!" he exclaimed again. "Is there anything else you'd like to throw at me?"

"Yes now you mention it!" she screamed picking up his favourite coffee cup and throwing it at him. He ducked instinctively and the cup smashed against the kitchen wall behind him sending a cascade of coffee and china to the floor below.

"You so did not do that!" he said.

She turned and picked up the coffee pot

"Hell no!" he said stepping forward and wrestling it out of her hands. He placed it out of reach and placed one hand on the worktop either side of her pinning her against it. She lifted up her hands and pushed them uselessly against his chest.

"Let me go!" she growled at him.

"You knew that I could be recalled." He said again patiently.

She reached up again and slapped him, once twice and finally a third time, before he caught hold of her as she went to slide down to the floor. He held her tight in his arms as she started crying. And they remained locked together when Nicole burst into the house.

"Is it true?" she asked breathing heavily, placing a hand protectively on her very pregnant stomach.

"Nic." Roman began only to be interrupted by Ella saying bitterly.

"Yes he's going. He doesn't care about us."

"El!" he said, not quite sure what he could add.

"Dad. You can't!" Nicole said. "What about…?" she started to say but Ella shook her head quickly and she amended. "My baby?"

"Nicole I'm sorry. I hate this trust me." Roman said hoping for some understanding about how hard this was for him.

Ella took the opportunity to push him away and raising her hand again she tugged at her wedding ring. She placed it in the palm of his hand.

"If you go don't bother coming back." She shouted running past them both and out of the door.

Roman opened up his hand and looked down at the ring.

"Dad!" Nicole said placing a hand on his arm. "She doesn't mean it."

"She does Nic, she saw her brother killed before her, she won't be able to accept me going." He looked defeated for a moment and then straightening he squared his shoulders and walked upstairs to pack.

Nicole sank down on the sofa unable to believe that in just 20 minutes their lives had been torn apart unable to hold them back any longer she started crying.

She sniffed and started in surprise when she was handed a tissue.

"I'm sorry Nic." Ella said. "I didn't mean to get so aggressive."

"Hormones!" Nicole said dabbing at her eyes.

"Yes." Ella agreed. "Promise you won't tell him?" she asked.

"You should." Nicole said. "I won't feel right with him going and not knowing!" grimacing at the unintentional rhyme.

"Where is he?" Ella asked.

"Upstairs, he said he has to pack."

Ella nodded.

"He's being picked up in an hour." Ella confirmed.

She turned and walked upstairs slowly.

Roman was sitting on the bed his gaze on the ring he was holding in-between two of his fingers. He looked up when he saw here. She ran to his side and cradled him in her arms. His head pressed against her stomach. Please no, she thought, don't let him leave thinking I don't love him.

He pulled her down beside him and looked into her eyes capturing hold of her left hand.

"To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness. " He recited pushing the ring back on her finger his hand shaking.

She clung to him as he kissed her.

"Come back to me" she whispered. "Be a coward, don't look for danger and come back to me."

"Always." He promised. "I'll always come back to you."

She took his face in her hands, her fingers memorising the planes and angles, and feel of him and looked deep into his eyes.

"I love you." She said finally.

He stood slowly and picked up his bag. He had already changed into a set of fatigues he'd kept in the back of his wardrobe and his combat boots. He was once again the solider.

She smiled wistfully.

"They'll cut your hair!" she commented looking at his hair, long enough now to be touching his collar.

He laughed.

"I'll just grow it again when I come home." He held out his arm and she moved towards him placing her arm around his waist and pressing herself to his side raising her head to his. He felt her shudder as a sob went through her body and he did the only thing he could he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her.

He led them downstairs and placed his bag near the door. Nic was sitting on the sofa still upset although she had managed to stop crying.

"Nic!" he called and she pushed herself upright with a little bit off difficulty gaining her balance finally. She walked over to him and into his arms.

"It's only six more weeks until the baby is supposed to be born. Will you be back by then?" she asked.

She looked over his arm and questionably over at Ella who bit her lip and shook her head. Nicole shook her head sadly in response her blonde hair fanning her pale tear streaked face.

"Nic if I could be nothing would stop but you know that. I am so proud of you. You're all grown up and you have a wonderful husband in Geoff. " He told her.

She sobbed and fell against him just as Geoff and Aden walked through the door. She'd sent Geoff to fetch the other man and bring him round. Geoff walked up to her and took her into his arms. He placed a protective hand on her bump and led her to the sofa to sit back down.

"Roman." Aden began uncertain what he wanted to say.

"It's alright son." He said with a half smile. "You knew this could happen. I need you and Geoff to take care of my girls." He said sadly.

"Dad!" Aden exclaimed and the two men hugged.

"And don't forget Mike." Roman instructed and winced as he heard Ella give a little sob of distress.

A knock sounded at the door and he saw a man standing there in shadow. He stepped forward and they could now see his uniform.

"Sorry to interrupt, Sir!" they heard him say.

"Do you have my orders?" Roman asked once more a professional solider.

The man saluted and handed over a large brown envelope. Roman took it into the kitchen and opened it out of sight of everyone. He read the single sheet of paper first and nodded before glancing at the other Intel. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and opened it, his thumb glancing over the photos inside before placing it on the table. Then adding his mobile phone to the pile and lastly his house keys. He gathered the papers up and put them back in the envelope tucking it under one arm as he started towards the door pausing in the living room. He looked at each of them in turn without speaking and then pulled off his wedding ring. Ella gasped and clutched against Aden for support.

He walked over to Nic.

"Keep this safe for me. I'm going to come back for it, I promise." He placed the circle of gold in her hand and then closed her hand around it.

She began to cry turning her face into Geoff's shoulder as the man tightened his arms around her.

Roman then walked over to Ella and holding her face between his hands he whispered.

"I won't forget my promise." He kissed her and then strode out of the door collecting his bag on the way out, his back straight.

"What does this mean?" Nicole asked holding out the ring.

"No identification." Ella said folding her arms across her stomach as though to hold herself together.

Aden gasped realising the danger Roman could soon be facing.

Ella took a deep breath hoping that the sick dizzy feeling would pass but she saw hazy lights in front of her eyes and sank to the floor in a dead faint before Aden could catch her. The last words Ella heard as she slipped into oblivion were from Nicole.

"Careful, she's pregnant!" Nic called to the others.

She came to on the sofa with only Aden in the room.

"Geoff took Nicole home to rest and who better to wait until you woke up but your very own Doctor." He tried to lighten the mood. "I called the hospital to get your history. You know it's not going to be easy don't you?" he said referring to the pregnancy as he sat on the coffee table and faced her. "And you let Roman go without telling him?" he questioned, a note of anger in his voice.

"Aden." She said weakly. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and faced him.

"Would you have him distracted and worried about me back here when he is facing whatever it is over there?" she excused herself. "I know what its like for the men who have wives and children to worry about. Should I add a high risk pregnancy to his list of concerns?" She thought of the way he had left, placing his wedding band in Nic's hand and bit back another sob. Then shaking her head. "He will be in contact with us at some point and he mustn't know. You all have to promise that you won't tell him." She declared.

"If I promise then you are going to do exactly what I say to keep the baby safe." Aden said with a catch in his voice.

She looked at him and smiled sadly, placing a protective hand over her still flat stomach.

"I will do anything to keep my family safe." She said and looked over at the other man. She stood and held open her arms. Aden stepped into the embrace trying to remember what it felt like to have his mother hold him and couldn't. She held him for a while feeling his shoulders quake as he let go and cried.

After a while he stood back and hastily wiping his eyes he muttered his head downcast.

"It should be me that takes care of you." His voice was barely above a whisper.

"I think we are all going to have to take care of each other for a little while. Now come on I have to arrange for Mike to come home this weekend and we should go and make sure Nicole is alright."