The Heart Wants What It Wants

Set after 3x19.

Chapter One- Blasts From The Past

It had been an eventful few days for Rikki Chadwick and as she woke on a Tuesday morning, she was relieved to hear the sound of rain battering hard against her caravan. She looked around her room and sighed loudly when she saw an empty pizza box and an empty carton of ice cream. She had not eaten for twenty four hours then the day before, hunger hit her like nothing before and she ordered food in. She did not want to admit the breakup she was going through from her ex-boyfriend had hit her hard and she was experiencing what most girls go through after a break up. She had told her friends she had stomach flu but she feared they saw straight through her. She knew that after today, she could not do anymore moping about and had to get back to herself but that was going be difficult; she hated being a girl sometimes. She flung back her bed covers and headed to the kitchen to make herself a coffee. She saw her dad sitting at the kitchen table, reading his morning newspaper.

'Morning, sweetheart, there's some coffee for you in the pot' her dad told her, pointing the kitchen side.

'Thanks Dad' she forced smile before taking her mug from the cupboard and poured herself some coffee.

'What time are you meeting your friends for school?' her dad then questioned.

'Erm' she looked out the window at the pouring rain. Telling her Dad she could not go out today because at the instant touch of water, she grows a tail was out of the question 'I still don't feel good. I might give today a miss as well'

'Is it your stomach still?' she nodded quickly 'I think there is some anti-sickness tablets in the bottom cupboard'

'Great, thanks' she replied, going along with it and headed towards the cupboard.

'Not sure there is anything for a broken heart though' he muttered under his breath. She rolled her eyes and stuck the tablets out.

'I'm just gonna go back to bed' she said, standing back up.

'Without anything to eat? Nonsense, I'll make your favourite, sit down' he told her, standing up and pulled out the chair next to him.

'Dad, I am little old for eggs and toast, don't you think?' she questioned, sitting down.

'Just sit down and let me cook for you' he replied, kissing her on the cheek before walking over the cooker.

THWWIW

Rikki watched out of her window as the last of the rain cleared up. It was nearly lunchtime but it felt later. She never wanted to be the girl to be hung up on a guy but then again she had promised at the age of 12 to never fall in love after witnessing the fall out of her parents' marriage but she had messed up that promise nearly two years ago. She didn't plan on falling for him, it just crept up on her. She guessed it was because he reminded her of her; not what they seemed and was a lot more than what appeared on the surface. She always thought that is why she fell so hard. Because it was unexpected. Though the past few months had proved how wrong she could had been. All she wanted was a steaming hot shower, like the ones she took as a pre-teen to blast out of her parents arguing but she couldn't. Sitting in the bath, with water pouring on her head with a tail wasn't the same. She would have to settle for a bath though she wasn't a bath. She was an impatient person. She liked to quick and that was what a shower gave her.

'God, I miss showers' she muttered to herself before standing up and went to run herself a bath. Upon her return to her bedroom after her bath, she found her friends, Cleo Sertori, Bella Hartley and Will Benjamin sat on her bed.

Cleo jumped up 'It's good to see you alive'

'It's going to take more than a stomach flu to kill me, Cleo' Rikki laughed and rolled her eyes.

'Right, stomach flu' Bella commented, her eyes flickering towards the empty pizza box.

'Yeah, I think something is the air' Rikki replied, looking down.

'It's okay, Rikki to be hurt. We understand. It's okay to be a girl every now and again' Cleo told her, walking over to her.

'Hurt? Me, I'm fine. I have just had the stomach flu' Rikki shrugged, and moved away as Cleo tried to hug her.

'We are your friends, you don't have to pretend with us. You deserve a medal after you have had to put up with the past few months with Zane and...'

'Don't say his name. It's banned now. We are never to talk about him again' Rikki said, cutting across Bella.

'And we got her. It's okay, Rikki. You are human, you allowed to be hurt' Will said, standing up.

'And I have told you I am not hurt. If you are here for some kind of intervention, you can leave now. Just told about something else' Rikki replied, sighing.

'Rikki, come here now please' her dad called from the living room.

'I swear to God, if that's him again, I am going to boil him alive' she muttered before leaving her room but who was waiting for her wasn't Zane. It was a slender women in her mid-30s with long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Rikki swallowed loudly. It was her mother. She had not seen her in six years. She could feel her heart racing.

'Rikki, it is so good to see you, darling' her mother walked towards her but Rikki put her hand out, stopping her and stepped backwards.

'Don't, just don't' she said, trying to keep her cool.

'Ah, you are with your friends, I am sorry to interrupt you' her mum said, seeing Cleo, Bella and Will behind her daughter.

'You shouldn't be here. You need to leave' Rikki told her, crossing her arms.

'Don't be rude, Rikki. At least allow me to introduce myself. I'm Rebekah Chadwick, Rikki's mother' she said, holding her hand out to Cleo.

'Oh wow, it's nice to meet you' Cleo replied, shaking her hand.

'Trust me, it's not' Rikki muttered through gritted teeth as Rebekah shook Bella's hand.

'Rikki, please, try, for me at least' her dad tried to tell her.

Rikki turned to her mother 'What are you even doing here?'

'I wanted to see my girl' Rebekah replied, smiling, walking over to Rikki and tried to hug her but she moved out of the way.

'You are about six years too long' Rikki told her before heading out of her house and ran out of her estate.

She did not know what to do. She had always promised to go to Zane if her mother ever made a reappearance but she couldn't do that. She couldn't go to Mako because everything that was happening there and it would be the first place her friends would look for her. She was lost and had nowhere to go. She walked towards the ocean, having the sudden urge to swim far away, where no one would find her. Of all the times her mother could return, she chose to return now.

Rikki stopped running as she came to the café that was named in her honour. She rolled her eyes and ran towards the end of path, before jumping into the water…