Summary: Alt-U. Hayden returns, while Loretta is still pregnant.
Timeline: An alternative Season 3. Begins somewhere between episode 13 (To Sleep; No More) and 14 (Natural Magic and Dire Property). Currently I'm not sure how far I'm going to take it.
Main Characters: Loretta, Hayden, pretty much everyone.
Rating: M for coarse language (like the show, swearing is prevalent)
Disclaimer: The characters in Outrageous Fortune belong to South Pacific Pictures. I write for fun not profit, so I hope they don't mind too much :)
Additional Disclaimer: My intention in writing this story is just to explore a "what if" scenario. It is in no way me expressing any kind of unhappiness with the original writing and stories. The Loretta/Hayden love story and Loretta's pregnancy and eventual bonding with Jane are some of my favourite storylines throughout the whole series. Call this one wishful thinking I guess.
"Where is everyone?" Pascalle asked around a yawn as she shuffled across from the hall to the kitchen, tying the belt of her dressing gown. Cheryl looked up from her magazine.
"I think Van crashed at Casey and Munter's, Ted's gone down the TAB, and Loretta looked bloody exhausted when she got home last night, so I snuck into her room and turned off her alarm clock." She replied, taking a sip of her coffee. Pascalle paused in the act of putting bread in the toaster to flick a quick glance at her Mum.
"She's not going to like that..." Cheryl shrugged and looked back down at her magazine.
"It's Saturday, the Video Hut isn't going to burn down just because Loretta has a sleep in. That student of hers can open up."
"She's still not going to like it." Pascalle said in a sing-song voice, picking through the jars of various spreads in the cupboard. Cheryl pushed her chair back and stood.
"Yeah, well she..." she waved her coffee mug in the vague direction of the bedrooms as she picked up her plate and headed into the kitchen. "Needs to take better care of herself. Working all hours in that bloody shop and hardly sleeping. It's not good for her or the baby." She put her plate on the counter next to the sink and turned to lean on the bench as she drained her coffee. Pascalle snorted.
"You know she doesn't care about the baby Mum." She said in a slightly disapproving tone.
"Well I do!" Cheryl turned and put her empty mug down with more force than she'd intended, her frustrations of the last few weeks bubbling up. She looked towards the hallway, her expression settling into a worried frown. "And she should..."
With a sigh, Cheryl crossed the kitchen and reached for the cigarette packet she'd left on the other counter. Her expression altered to disgust as she found it empty.
"Shit." She muttered under her breath. She threw the packet in the bin and opened the fridge door, checking the supply of milk. Closing the fridge door, she headed back to the table and picked up her keys and handbag. "I'm heading to the shops, I'm out of cigarettes and we need milk. Can you deal with the dishes when you're done with breakfast?" Pascalle made an affirmative noise in her throat as she daintily picked her hot toast out of the toaster with her fingernails and dropped each slice quickly onto her plate. She shook her fingers for a moment, cooling them.
"Thanks love." Cheryl said, digging in her bag for her sunglasses. "You need anything?"
"Um, we're out of peanut butter, Van put the empty one back in the cupboard again." Pascalle replied, pointing her buttery knife over her shoulder at the cupboard in question. Cheryl grunted.
"God I wish he wouldn't do that. All right, I'll get some more of that too then." She put her sunnies on and headed out the door, closing it quietly behind her. Pascalle spread some Marmite on her toast and carried it to the table, pulling Cheryl's magazine towards her and flipping it back to the front page. She idly leafed her way through it as she munched her breakfast. As she was chewing the last piece of it, someone knocked on the door. Picking up the magazine, she made her way over to answer it, grinning at an article she'd just spotted. An old fling of hers, Grant Wilkes, had been caught cheating on his wife for the fourth time, and this time she was filing for divorce.
"Dunno why she didn't cut off his tiny penis after the last two times." Pascalle commented, lowering the magazine as she opened the door. Her smile faded into a scowl as she recognised the man standing on the other side of it, his hand raised to knock a second time. "What the fuck are you doing here?" She snapped.
"Nice to see you too Pascalle." The caller was none other than Hayden "bloody" Peters, ex-boyfriend of both Pascalle and Loretta, and the father of the baby Loretta was unhappily incubating. He was dressed casually, in a grey t-shirt, faded jeans and an expensive looking pair of sunglasses, which he reached up to remove. He peered past Pascalle's shoulder, trying to see if anyone else was home. "Is Loretta in? I stopped in at the shop but there was an asian girl minding it."
"She's asleep." Pascalle bit the words out, standing squarely in the doorway.
"Right..." Hayden said in a neutral tone, nodding. He gestured towards the living room with his sunglasses. "Can I come in for a bit? I kind of need to talk to her." Pascalle glared at him for a long moment, then grudgingly stepped to one side, letting him in.
"I guess... but I doubt she wants to talk to you." She said this to Hayden's back as he walked past her. She closed the door and followed him into the living room, still glaring at him.
"How's she been?" Hayden asked, tucking the arm of his sunglasses into the collar of his t-shirt.
"Duh, she got knocked up and dumped, how do you think she's been?" Pascalle said. Hayden had the grace to look mildly chagrined. He scratched at the side of his neck.
"Yeah... I guess not too good." He said, not quite looking Pascalle in the eye. "What about you? Are you still with Bruce?" Merely trying to make small talk, Hayden wasn't at all prepared for Pascalle's reaction, which was to fetch him a ringing slap across the face. His head snapped to the side and he pivoted slightly, lifting a hand to his cheek. "Ow! Jesus! What the fuck was that for?" He shouted.
"No I'm not with Bruce anymore! He dumped me and moved to Wellington! And it's all your fucking fault!" Pascalle's voice was filled with equal parts hurt and rage as she spat out the words.
"What?" Hayden was genuinely bewildered. "How is it my fault?"
"Because, he saw... that... fucking... movie! YOUR... fucking... movie!" Pascalle punctuated her words by trying to smack Hayden around the head with the magazine. He raised one arm to protect his face, and instantly cringed, his other hand lifting to grab at the side of his chest even as he tried to duck away from the blows.
"Ow! Fuck! Pascalle, lay off! I've got... broken bloody ribs!"
"Good! I hope they really hurt!" Pascalle prepared to launch a fresh assault, but was interrupted by a sleepy voice from down the hallway.
"What's all the bloody noise about?" Loretta stopped abruptly as she reached the living room doorway, taking in the tableau. Pascalle froze, magazine still raised to strike, and glanced towards her. Hayden had also stopped all movement at the sound of her voice. Now he straightened up, lowering the arm he'd been protecting his head with. Loretta's eyes widened in shock. Hayden's gaze dropped from Loretta's face to her stomach, and his jaw dropped. By the time he looked back up, his expression was almost as shocked as hers. As the moment stretched on, Pascalle saw her sister's face drain of all colour. Before anyone could speak, Loretta clapped a hand to her mouth and bolted for the toilet. For the next few seconds, the only sound in the house was of her throwing up. Hayden glanced at Pascalle.
"Jesus, how far along is she?" He asked. Pascalle shot him a dirty look.
"Five months." At this, Hayden went a little pale himself. He took a moment to digest this information. Then he frowned slightly.
"And she's still getting morning sickness?" He asked, genuinely concerned. His sisters all had kids and he had a vague memory that morning sickness wasn't supposed to last beyond the first few months. Pascalle shot him another look.
"She never had morning sickness." She said, throwing the now rather battered looking magazine back onto the table and heading into the hall. Loretta was kneeling on the floor in front of the toilet, breathing heavily but no longer heaving. In a rare moment of genuine sisterly concern, Pascalle squeezed in to crouch next to her, stroking her back. Loretta lifted her head and gave her a look that could only be described as haunted.
"Do you want me to get rid of him?" Pascalle asked quietly. Loretta stared at her for a moment, then climbed slowly to her feet, steeling herself.
"No." She replied, equally quietly. She reached over to flush the toilet as Pascalle stood up and backed out of the room. Hayden was waiting at the end of the hallway. Loretta afforded him only a brief glance as she went into the bathroom. Pascalle stood in the middle of the hall, her arms crossed, glaring at Hayden as he approached the bathroom door. He stopped in the doorway, waiting while Loretta cleaned her teeth. His gaze silently wandered over her, not in a letcherous way, just observing the changes since he'd last seen her. She was still in her pyjamas, having been woken by the raised voices in the living room. The black knitted cotton pants fitted snugly over her hips, the elastic at the front dipping down under the curve of her belly. This of course was the most notable change in her appearance, and it took several moments for him to tear his gaze away from it.
"Are you alright?" Hayden asked as Loretta spat out a mouthful of toothpaste, turning the tap on. She cupped a handful of water, rinsing her mouth and spitting again. Then she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"You mean apart from the parasite?" She fired back in a hostile tone, deliberately not looking at him. Hayden winced at the reference. He'd guessed she wouldn't be happy about the pregnancy, but even so he hadn't expected quite that level of antipathy.
"I meant you puking your guts up a minute ago." He said. Loretta's eyes flicked sideways and upwards, obviously considering a number of possible responses, almost certainly all sarcastic. Her jaw jutted forward for a moment and her lips narrowed.
"I'm fine." She finally said. She shot a very quick glance in his direction and immediately looked away again. "I thought you never wanted to see me again." She added, leaning both palms on the edge of the sink and staring down into it.
"I was hoping we could talk." Hayden said, treading carefully. He knew Loretta's defenses were up, he could see the tension in her posture. Her arms were rigidly straight, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the edge of the sink. From past experience he knew how volatile she could be when she was emotional.
"What is there to talk about?" Loretta asked, obviously determined not to make this an easy conversation. Hayden stirred from the doorway, walking into the bathroom behind her.
"This baby, if nothing else. Jethro, Ted and Falani seemed fairly... adamant that it's mine." He rubbed absently at the healing ribs he'd pulled while defending himself from Pascalle earlier. Loretta's head lifted and she glared at him via the bathroom mirror.
"And you were pretty adamant it isn't." She snapped, then tilted her head, still holding his gaze. "It's the demon spawn of Satan, apparently." Hayden grimaced, he'd been hoping Jethro and Ted hadn't conveyed the full conversation, as brief as it had been.
"Yes, ok, I was angry. We didn't exactly part on good terms, did we?" He said. Loretta clenched her jaw, and went back to staring down the sink, trying to block out that particularly painful memory. "So is it?" Hayden continued. "Mine, I mean."
"Well, if your name happens to be Satan then I guess it must be."
"Loretta..." Hayden's patience was starting to ebb. Loretta took a deep breath and straightened up, finally turning to face him. She leaned back against the sink, once again curling her fingers around the edge of it.
"Yes. It's yours." She finally said. Then she sighed, lowering her head and staring at the floor off to one side of Hayden. "The Doctors reckon I'm five months. Which is about how long it's been... since Aurora died." Hayden closed his eyes as the memory surfaced of a frantic, grief-driven shag. He rubbed his forehead with his fingertips and let out a quiet groan.
"Aurora's wake..." he said quietly, finally accepting the truth of it. "Shit." He turned and paced a few steps, running both hands through his hair.
"It's the only time I remember us not being... careful." Loretta admitted in a quiet, chagrined tone.
"Shit!" Hayden said again, more vehemently. He paced the length of the bathroom again, his expression running a gamut of emotions, from shock to panic, to a mix of anger and despair. He rounded on Loretta. "We weren't careful because you said it was safe!" He said, gesturing with a flattened hand, fingers pointing in her direction. Loretta's head snapped back up.
"No I didn't!" She sputtered, caught off guard by the sudden attack.
"I asked if you were sure! And you said do it!" Hayden blustered.
"I know!" Loretta shouted back. "I... was upset, I wasn't thinking!" Her voice cracked.
"That's pretty fucking evident isn't it?" Hayden retorted, gesturing towards her stomach.
"Okay fine! I'm an idiot! This is all my fucking fault! Is that what you want to hear?" Loretta straightened up, launching herself away from the sink, her eyes filling with tears of anger, hurt and embarrassment. She'd been mentally flogging herself for her own stupidity ever since she found out about the pregnancy, but it still stung having Hayden apparently blaming her too. She wiped her eyes, frustration at her own lack of emotional control adding fuel to her anger. "I made a mistake!" She shouted, pacing out the words. "And I already feel pretty fucking stupid about it. So if you came all this way just to give me a lecture you can fuck off!" She shouted, pointing at the door. At the sight of her tears, Hayden's temper abruptly vanished.
"Shit..." he said for a third time, closing his eyes for a moment. "No, of course I didn't." He said in a much quieter voice, opening his eyes again and trying to catch hers to convey his sincerity. Unfortunately the damage was already done.
"Well why the hell not?" Loretta's voice cracked again, and the tears began flowing freely. "I've already had chapter and verse from Mum, and Pascalle rubbing it in at every opportunity! Why shouldn't you take a shot?" She wiped her eyes again.
"I'm sorry..." he stepped forwards, instinctively reaching for her, but Loretta had already turned and fled. Brushing past Pascalle, who hastily stepped out of her way, she ran to her room, slamming the door behind her.
"Loretta..." Hayden followed her down the hall.
"Fuck off!" Her voice was muffled by the closed door, but Hayden could tell she was full on crying now. He leaned his forehead on the door, inwardly cursing himself for letting the situation get so out of control
"Look I'm really sorry. Please, I just wanted to talk!"
"I said FUCK OFF! I don't want to talk to you!" Before Hayden could muster another argument, a new voice intruded.
"What the hell's going on down there?" Cheryl's voice sounded from out in the living room. As she entered the hallway, she spotted Hayden and stopped, her jaw dropping open. Hayden turned to face her, his expression resigned, waiting for the explosion he knew was imminent.
"Hayden... what the fuck are you doing here?" Cheryl asked, walking down the hall towards him. She didn't raise her voice, but the implication was clear, the reason for his presence had better be extremely good.
"I came to talk to Loretta." Hayden replied, once again trying to adopt a calm and reasonable tone.
"It didn't sound much like talking to me." Cheryl said flatly. Hayden grimaced.
"Yeah, things got a bit out of hand, but..."
"Only because you started lecturing her." Pascalle interjected. She couldn't admit to her mother exactly why she hated Hayden, but she'd happily take any opportunity to make him look bad.
"Lecturing her?" Cheryl asked, her voice coloured with indignation.
"I didn't mean..." Hayden tried to speak, but Pascalle interrupted again, looking at her Mum.
"He was making out like it's all Loretta's fault she's pregnant." She crossed her arms again, enjoying his increasing discomfort.
"That's not what I..."
"You've got a bloody nerve coming in here and getting on your high horse! She's seventeen years old for Christ's sake!" Cheryl shouted, pointing at Loretta's door. "If anyone should have known better it's you!"
"Yeah I know that." Hayden desperately tried to get a word in edgeways and salvage the situation, but Cheryl was on a roll.
"It didn't bloody stop you did it? And then, you fucked off to Australia, and left her to deal with this shit on her own! Now, you come back and have a go at her? How fucking dare you?"
"I didn't know she was pregnant when I left did I?" Hayden shouted, finally losing his temper. "And I didn't come back to have a go at her! I came back to find out if it's really my kid!" For a moment there was silence.
"Well duh, Jethro told you it was, like, a month ago?" Pascalle said. "And you said no way." Hayden took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts.
"Yeah, ok, I'll admit I really didn't want to know about it. Lets face it, things got pretty damned messy between me and Loretta before I left. Not the least of which was her burning my house down." Hayden paused, letting that reminder sink in. "And to be fair when Jethro told me she was pregnant, he never mentioned she was four bloody months pregnant. I thought it was... recent."
"What, you thought she went out and shagged someone else and blamed you?" Pascalle asked.
"The thought crossed my mind, yes!" Hayden shot back.
"Well she didn't! When you left she was really upset! And... Loretta doesn't do that sort of thing!" Pascalle paused. "Well... there was that Trent guy, but that was like, last week... so there's no way it could be his, she was already way pregnant by then." Hayden gave her a quizzical look, a little perturbed by that snippet of information. Then he turned back to Cheryl, who was also regarding her eldest daughter with a surprised expression, also not having heard about Loretta's recent one night stand.
"So why are you here then?" Cheryl asked, recovering from her momentary surprise and turning back to Hayden. "If you were so bloody sure it wasn't your kid, why did you come back?"
"To be honest, I don't really know." Hayden admitted, running a hand through his hair. "Jethro and Ted seemed pretty certain it was... I guess I had to find out if it was true."
"Well now you know." Cheryl said flatly.
"Yeah..." Hayden said, obviously still struggling to digest the knowledge. He glanced at Loretta's bedroom door for a moment, and sighed. "Look Cheryl, I know this is a tough situation. And if there's anything I can do..." Cheryl snorted, lowering her head and rubbing her forehead, laughing mirthlessly.
"You've done enough, don't you think?" She said, all traces of humour fading from her expression. Hayden opened his mouth again, whether to protest or continue pleading his case they didn't find out because Cheryl raised a hand to stop him. "No. Whatever you're about to say, I don't want to hear it right now. I've got more important things to deal with." She said with a pointed glance at Loretta's door. "I think the best thing you can do, for now, is leave." Cheryl stepped to one side of the hallway. Hayden sighed.
"Yeah, you're probably right." He said, walking past them and back up the hallway. Cheryl followed him to the front door. As he reached it, he paused, turning back to look her in the eye. "Can you please just tell her I want to talk to her? No lectures, I promise. I just want to talk." Cheryl held his gaze for a long moment, judging his sincerity. Then she gave a curt nod. He turned and left without a further word. Cheryl closed the door, then went to the table and picked up the bottle of milk she'd dumped there when she went to investigate the shouting. She put it away in the fridge, then walked back to the table and in a reflex action picked up her cigarettes. She looked at them, and then down the hall. Then she put them back on the table and headed back down to where Pascalle was listening at Loretta's door with a worried expression on her face.
Cheryl knocked quietly, then let herself in. Loretta was sitting on the side of her bed with her arms wrapped around herself. She was staring blankly at the wall, her throat muscles working occasionally as if she was fighting not to be sick again. Occasionally she blinked, releasing fresh tears to join the ones already silently rolling down her pale cheeks. For a moment Cheryl stood there, frozen with shock. She'd never seen Loretta in this sort of state. Sluggishly, Loretta's gaze lifted to meet her mother's, giving her the same haunted look Pascalle had seen earlier.
"Hey..." Cheryl whispered, entering the room and sitting next to her daughter, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. For the first time in her life, Loretta turned and buried her head under Cheryl's chin, clinging to her. She gasped, and then began to shake as the emotions she'd been bottling up for the last few months escaped in a torrent. Bewildered, Cheryl gathered her daughter in her arms as Loretta began crying in great, heaving sobs. Cheryl looked up to where Pascalle was standing in the doorway. There were tears glistening in Pascalle's eyes too as she held Cheryl's worried gaze for a few moments. Then Pascalle quietly crept away, leaving Cheryl rocking Loretta and making comforting noises as her youngest child cried herself to exhaustion.