Author's Note: Please enjoy my first Lauren and Joey story. It is based upon the recent spoilers about Lauren's return.

Chapter One: Home Again

Lauren dropped her bag on the floor and called through the empty house for her father.

"Lauren!" He called back down the stairs as he made his way to her, pulling his daughter into a hug that made her feel like it was worth coming back. Like maybe this wasn't the worst idea ever, and she wasn't going to revert back to her stupid ways. She took a deep breath in and hugged her father. "How are you feeling babe?" He asked her, concern clouding his eyes.

"Much better Dad, I'm better… I promise." She answered smiling slightly because it was truth; for once she was telling her father the truth.

"Well would you like to go out to celebrate that your home?" Her Dad looked at her with hope and she could tell he was really trying.

She nodded, "Yeah, sounds good, anywhere but the Vic. I'll just go and get ready." She replied, picking up her bag and running upstairs to her room. She stared at herself in the mirror at her blonde highlighted hair and slightly tanned skin. She looked healthy and she definitely felt healthier. The clinic her Mum had sent her to was tough and there were days where she would have rather risked death and have a drink than gone on with the counselling and health checks and urine samples.

She had lost weight as well; the healthy lifestyle the clinic had drilled into her wasn't just about stopping her addiction and dependence on alcohol but also about eating healthy and exercising. She slipped into some blue skinny jeans and threw on a loose white t-shirt and slipped on some turquoise sandals. She sighed and stared at herself, pushing a hand through her lighter hair. She knew she needed to go outside, needed to show her face and prove she was better. That all the times she had shown herself up and embarrassed her family, that wasn't her, it was the drink and she was so much better than that.

"Lauren?" Her Dad called from downstairs, she broke out of her trance and headed to the stairs.

"So where do you want to go Dad?" Lauren asked as they walked into the square.

"Wherever you feel comfortable Lauren" Her Dad replied smiling down at her.

"If you fancy splurging why don't we go to Scarlett's?" Lauren replied she needed to get seeing anyone out of the way. Especially if that someone were Lucy and Joey and especially if they were together, she hasn't spoken to either of them while at the clinic and she had even accepted their relationship. Or that was what she told herself anyway.

As her Dad pushed open the door she took a deep breath and prepared herself to face any old daemons from her past that may head her way.

"Right, me and my gorgeous daughter would like a table please?" Her Dad asked the dark haired girl behind the counter.

"Lauren? You're back?" Whitney asked staring at her opened mouthed. "No one was sure if you would even come back." She mumbled and continued to stare until she eventually choked out. "You look great!" Before beckoning the pair to a table as far away from the bar as they could get and then quickly running away. Lauren was quiet after that, daemons she thought to herself. Clearly Whitney had not forgiven her for accidentally/on purpose kissing Tyler while drunk. Not that she particularly remembered it, those few months consisted of a blur of one Vodka bottle after another and lots of shouting and crying and losing Joey for the final time.

The waiter came up and asked for their drinks order and Lauren asked for a Pineapple Juice not even missing asking for vodka and lemonade. Not even missing the feel of the glass or the smell of the vodka or the agreement she would have with the drink that it would help her forget.

Her Dad ordered an Orange Juice and she smiled thankfully, she wasn't sure how she would be around alcohol yet, especially here and especially if he were to walk in. Just at that point the doors were pushed open and in walked the boy who had plagued her thoughts for years. The boy with the dark hair and equally dark eyes who with less than one touch could make Lauren's walls that she had built so carefully around herself to fall down and he didn't even know it. She stared at him freely because he hadn't noticed her yet; her mouth hung open slightly because she was pretty sure he looked better than before. She could feel her Dad's eyes on her but she didn't care, she needed a few more moments to be greedy and pretend she could freely look at him, like he was hers still.

He was standing at the counter having what looked like a hushed but heated argument with Whitney and Lauren's eyebrows knitted together in curiosity as she attempted to work out what they were saying. Somewhere in the distance she heard her Dad ask her something and it wasn't until he waved his hand in front of her eyes did she finally stop staring at her long lost boy.

"Lauren, are you alright? Do you want to leave?" Her Dad asked concerned for his daughter and another addiction that might be coming about.

"What? No – no I'm fine. What do you want to order Dad" She said her attention having been dragged away from the boy in the blue shirt and back to her father whose eyes were clouded with concern and uncertainty. "I was thinking of ordering some kind of expensive fish since you're the one paying." She teased and her Dad rolled his eyes, a small smile flashing across his face.

"Lauren?" The voice immediately sent shivers down her spine and she didn't need to look up from her menu to know who it was coming from, she did of course. Her eyes flicked up to the tall boy standing in front of them. "I didn't know if you would ever come back." He whispered his voice laced with the vulnerability he would only ever show her.

"Joe, mate I don't mean to be rude but its Lauren's first night back and we just want a quiet night yeah? No hassle." Her Dad said standing up to match Joey's height and warning him off in a way that Lauren had once seen Lions do on a wildlife programme.

"Dad, it's fine." She muttered pulling at her Dad's sleeve so he sat back down. "Yeah I'm back, just going to see how it goes living here. Take it easy you know?" She told Joey, looking up at him was almost as hard as seeing glasses of wine go past her every five minutes.

"I tried writing to you babe but your Dad wouldn't give me your address." Joey admitted glaring at Max as he did so.

Lauren smiled and tried not to look too closely at how toned his arms were when he crosses them and tried to ignore how much she wanted to be in bed with him and wrapped up in them right now. "It was probably for the best Joey, I needed space."

"And what do you need now?" Just that simple question made her heart skip slightly and silently in her head; almost so quiet she couldn't hear it a part of her whispered "you". But that part was quickly shut down as she remembered a very blonde, very irritating girlfriend of his.

"She still needs space mate alright?" Her Dad interrupted and Joey stared at her waiting for her to correct him like she would have done once upon a time but if there was anything she learnt at the clinic it was that the adults often knew best and so she simply nodded in agreement.

"Okay, well see you around Lauren yeah?" There she went again simply nodding like a dog in the back of a car. "Oh and you look great…" Joey said almost forlornly as he walked away from her yet again.

"So now that's over I propose a toast" Her Dad said as she turned her attention back to him. "To you and sobriety." He said as they clinked their soft drinks together and all Lauren could do was hope it lasted because since she couldn't seem to have Joey tonight she really could do a cocktail.