Prologue.

Joey was behind the bar finishing off bottling up when he heard someone coming down the stairs. He frowned, he'd obviously forgotten to close the door behind him again after he'd signed for the delivery earlier. 'We're closed' he yelled out, but the footsteps still came.

'It's me' a quiet but familiar voice said. Joey looked up in surprise, she was the last person he expected to see, the last person he wanted to see if he was being honest. He had nothing to say to her.

'What are you doing here?' he snapped at her angrily.

'I need to tell you something' she said with a shaky voice.

'Yeah, well... I don't need to talk to you so why don't you just piss off and go home' he snapped at her.

'Look there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to come out and say it…..I…' she trailed off.

Joey looked at her. He thought it was possible she'd been crying and she looked tired, even though she'd tried to cover up the dark circles under her eyes with make-up. He felt guilty suddenly, which then made him angry. Why should he feel guilty? She knew what she was getting into. He didn't owe her anything.

'Just say whatever it is you came to say and then crawl back under whatever rock you came out from!' he growled at her. The next words out of her mouth, even though he barely heard them, took the wind out of his sails.

'I'm pregnant, Joey' she whispered.

Joey blinked, letting the words sink in. Words he'd hoped he would never hear. Not from anyone and especially not from her. He wasn't a making a commitment type. He never had been. In all honestly he didn't know if he ever would be. But now it looked as though everything was about to change and he didn't have a choice in the matter. 'Are you sure?' he asked the woman in front of him. She nodded her head once. She looked vulnerable and anxious as she stood before him. Guilt raised his ugly head again. Joey frowned at her.

'I've been to the doctor to have it confirmed' she said quietly.

'Is it mine?' he asked her, a little dismissively. He was always careful. He used a condom every single time he had sex…mostly.

'Yes, it's yours' she replied, an angry frown marring her face 'I'm not the one fucking half the population of East London just for fun' she snapped at him, hot angry tears falling from her eyes. She dashed them away with the back of her hand before taking a calming breath.

'What are you going to do?' he asked her 'I suppose you're here for money for an abortion' her eyes shot up to meet his at his harsh words. 'Well, you know what, darling? There's no guarantee it's mine, so you're going to have to go find someone else to pin this on' He could see the shock and hurt in her eyes before she recovered herself and then her eyes flashed at him angrily. Of course this would be his response. She should've known better than to expect anything else. He was after all Joey Branning. Notorious ladies' man. And now the newly titled King of Dicks. She knew she'd made a mistake telling him. She wasn't sure what she expected him to do or say. Maybe a small part of her thought he would be supportive or nice... but she'd clearly been fooling herself into thinking she would get that reaction from him.

'I'm keeping the baby, Joey, and I don't want or need anything from you' she told him, her voice quiet but strong, 'I just thought you should hear it from me first hand' she told him.

He hadn't expected her to say that, she'd made it clear she hated him. He figured this was her way of payback 'And I don't get a say?' he frowned at her. She looked at him, shaking her head.

'I think you've just had it' she replied, her voice wobbled a little as though she was fighting back tears, the previous strength disappearing at his final attack. He watched as she turned, walked back up the steps and out of the club before Joey could say anything else. The outside door slammed shut and he turned and leant on the bar, closing his eyes. This was the last thing he wanted. He didn't want commitment or responsibilities. He didn't want to be tied down. And he certainly didn't want a baby. He just wanted to live his life the way he wanted to live it. And now everything was well and truly fucked up. Even more than he thought was possible.

He picked up one of the bottles of vodka he was about to fit into the optics and threw it in a fury. It smashed against the wall, showering glass and alcohol everywhere. 'FUCK!' he yelled out angrily

AN: