Author's note: This is my first fic, so may be a little rough around the edges, but I hope you all enjoy. One shot.

Jac is staying over at Joseph's because her apartment is being renovated. N.B- Set after the episode where Joseph admits to Jac that she was right about Faye all along.

She stood at the kitchen door, in her grey sweats, bed socks and vest top, and couldn't help at smile at him cooking their pasta whilst dancing to Mr. Brightside. She told herself to stop this. He was just being kind when he asked her to stay. They were supposed to be friends now. No. She was fine with that because she needed him so badly in her life that she wasn't going to put up another fight that could lose him for good. She knew that one more slip up on her side, he would be gone forever. Mentally slapping herself, she crept up behind him, trying to contain her laughter, she whispered in his ear,

"That's some dancing you got going on there Mr Byrne."

He jumped around to meet her giggling, leaning against the bench.

"Jeez Jac you scared the hell out of me!" he screamed, half laughing at her. God she'd missed that laugh.

"Calm down Joseph. We all like to have a little dance to ourselves once in a while. " she giggled.

"Hmmmm…" he smiled.

As they sat in the living room on the sofa eating their pasta, a million thoughts were racing through his mind. He could honestly say that he was one hundred percent over Faye. All he was concerned with now was his child. Everything was so confusing for him right now. He looked at the women to his right taking in the sight before his eyes. God she was so beautiful. He'd forgotten just how beautiful her smile was. All these years that had gone by, he'd been blaming her for everything, and it was her that had been trying to save him. The lockdown was still etched in his memory. She had told him that she loved him. Jac had let down her guard for him and what had he done? He broke her heart. He would never, ever forgive himself for not saying the words I love you. Why could he not have admitted to her and to himself that he was so in love with her, because it was the truth. He does love her, of course he does. More than anything.

"What?" she whispered, smiling lovingly at him, sounding so un Jac like.

"Nothing..I…I was just thinking.." he smiled back at her, getting up to take their plates back to the kitchen,

Returning to the living room, he sat down on the sofa again, and handed Jac a glass of wine. She couldn't help but think that this felt so right. The two of them sat having a glass of wine together on a Saturday night, in their sweats. Why the hell did she have to mess everything up?

"So am I allowed to ask you a question?" she gazed up at him, moving her legs onto his lap. Panicking if she just went too far, she stopped for a second and almost died as he put a hand on her foot, rubbing it gently. Oh. My. God.

"Ask away," he replied softly letting out a sigh

"What are you going to do now about the Faye situation?"

"I….I don't know..you do know the only reason…the only reason I haven't ran a mile is because of that child."

She smiled at him, putting down her wine glass. He could see so much hurt behind her eyes, it killed him. He had been the cause of so much of that. He should have been there for her, after all the drama with her mum. But yet again he was too busy wound up in stalking Linden and Faye to notice her.

"You….You are going to be an amazing dad" she whispered to him. This made him go weak at the knees for her. He didn't know what to say to her. He was happy he was going to be a dad. Yes. He'd always wanted that. But there was something so horribly wrong about it. Something missing.

"You know every night I used to go to bed wanting to kill you Jac I'm not going to lie…" she laughed, tracing his knee with her thumb "but then I'd wake up in the middle of the night and reach out my arm to touch you, but you weren't there…and when I thought you were pregnant, yeah okay I was scared and angry, but part of me felt alive inside. And it felt like it was meant to be…..Jac...I still go to bed every night wishing it was you and me. It should have been you and me having a baby."

Oh My God. Don't cry Jac, Please don't cry. But she couldn't help it. He was opening up to her after all this time. She felt her eyes well up with emotion.

"Joseph, I am so sorry…..I…" she answered, her voice breaking, not going unnoticed by the man she loved.

"Hey…hey…..hey…it's okay" he soothed, as he got up off his seat, to move beside her. God, he couldn't ever bare to see her cry. He put his strong arms around her, pulling her as close as he could. He needed her. She was his soul mate.

She clung onto him, and he felt her tears soak through his t-shirt.

"Darling, don't cry, or you'll make me cry." He whispered, kissing her hair.

God she couldn't believe this was real. Oh God what was she going to say?

"Joseph don't get mad…" she whispered, looking into his gorgeous blue eyes. He looked back into her own, clearly confused.

"You scare the crap out of me."

"What?" he replied, shocked.

"I am so in love with you and I'm scared. I care about you so much it probably isn't healthy. And I have tried my hardest this past two years to get over you, but I can't. It's just….you always say the right thing and every time I look into those eyes of yours I melt… and I gave my heart to you….my whole heart and I never really got it back…..I love you….and sometimes I just forget I'm not supposed to love you anymore" Her hands were shaking, as she tried to wipe away the tears falling from her eyes. Oh Crap what have I done?

He just stared at her, trying to comprehend her mini speech and just as she thought she had said too much, said the wrong thing, a smile began to creep up on his face.

He gently touched her face and she looked up. That was all it took. His lips found hers and formed into a sweet gentle kiss that she felt in the depths of her soul, gradually becoming more passionate.

She was it. She was what he wanted, what he needed.

The sweet taste of his kiss and the warmness of his embrace showed them both what they had been missing all this time.

Pulling apart, trying to catch their breaths, he cupped her face, grinning at her.

"I love you baby. I know that's the first time I've ever said that and.." Joseph told her, "I don't even know what else to say, other than I love you more than anything, and I'm sorry"

"Joseph I don't want to let you go…" she sobbed,

"I'm not going anywhere…..this is going to be hard…so hard and we're going to want to tear each other's hair out at times…but all I know is that I need you…..and I want to spend the rest of my life with you…..and the past is the past; let's just leave it at that."

She smiles. One of the warmest and happiest smiles he's ever seen. She looks so beautiful when she lets herself feel.

He picks her up, and kisses her again taking her to the bedroom. This is it. The two of them. Together. Forever. No matter what