AN: Well Crazy Chick 74 and I present to you our new story "Twelve Days Of Christmas" We hope that you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.
There will be one chapter posted per day from today, the last chapter will be posted on Boxing Day.
Please let us know what you think by leaving us some reviews.
Merry Christmas everyone xx
Prologue
Wednesday 30 November 2016
22 year old Lauren Branning lay awake thinking about the things that had happened in Albert Square in the last four years.
She had gone to rehab after she had finally admitted that she was an alcoholic and needed help….the collapse, the hospital stay, finding out that she had alcoholic hepatitis as well as the stark harsh words from the doctors had scared her. She had been close to death, very close. But somehow she had found the strength (with the help of her parents and sister) to do something about changing her life.
When she came out of rehab she was scared of how she would cope in the outside world without the support of the staff at the rehab centre, especially so when she had returned to Walford, she knew that she had a lot of things to apologise for and a lot of people to apologise to.
She discovered that some people were more forgiving than others.
There was a time when she thought that her relationship with Joey would pick up from where it had left off. That idea was one of the main things that kept her strong and determined throughout the time she spent in rehab. She had realised that Joey coming into her life was one, if not the best thing that had happened to her and that the blame for the demise of their relationship, of their friendship laid firmly at her door.
So she focused on what she wanted for the future, and that was Joey. Joey was her own personal incentive to get better.
Returning to the square she found out that there was definitely something still between the two of them, which neither of them could deny.
She had bravely asked him outright if he still loved her, and he had responded by tenderly pushing her hair behind her ear, his fingers stroking her cheek softly. And if that wasn't enough to convince Lauren that Joey still had deep feelings for her, there was also their near kiss in the kitchen in her house, but that moment was sadly interrupted by Kirsty, her father's wife. Well ex-wife now. She had left Walford after Max had kicked her out and from what Lauren had heard she was now back with her ex Carl. The man responsible for her father nearly being sent down for attempted murder.
But things between her and Joey didn't work out the way that she had wanted them to. Joey had told her that he wanted, that they needed to take things slowly, to build up the trust between them, to rebuild their friendship before they could even consider starting a relationship. Lauren had to admit that she was more than a little disappointed and a little hurt by his decision.
Then she had met someone else.
Jake Stone.
Jake was also an alcoholic she met him at her counsellor's office and they had hit it off immediately.
He was everything that Joey wasn't. He was older, more mature, he actually listened to her when she talked about how difficult she was finding things, but the biggest difference between them was that he understood.
Romance wasn't on her mind at that time, she was still keen for things to work out between her and Joey, she had, albeit reluctantly, agreed with Joey that they needed to take things slowly between them, so they were friends, more than friends, but not, if that made sense. But all that changed when she discovered that whilst she was away, he had slept with both Lucy and Whitney.
Her so called two best friends.
Everything had got a little too much for her and as the saying goes old habits die hard. She had taken her first mouthful of alcohol in two months, and okay yes she had spat it out, which was something that she wouldn't have been able to do 6 weeks earlier. She had also told her counselor, who was very impressed with her and proud, and if she was honest she was proud of herself. But when Joey and Whitney had found out about it, well their reactions weren't what Lauren was expecting and she had lost her temper with both of them and told them a few home truths.
She remembered the look on Joey's face when she had told him that she didn't need him and that he could sleep with whoever he wanted to…well everyone except her. She had turned and walked away from both of them, her head held high. Feeling a lot stronger than she had done for weeks.
After a few tense weeks, she and Joey had become friends again but she wasn't interested in a relationship with him anymore. She had found romance with someone else, with Jake Stone. Yes she was shocked to discover that he was married, something that he didn't tell her until they had been seeing each other for a month, but he had quickly added that his marriage was over and that his future lay with Lauren.
As the weeks passed, Joey had noticed that she was acting differently around him and she had been secretly pleased that the news she had a boyfriend seemed to piss off Joey and make him jealous. She knew that he was jealous when he confronted her over her new boyfriend and demanded to know who he was. They didn't really talk much after that, in fact Joey seemed to be avoiding her.
Their relationship took another turn when her cousin, Joey's baby sister Alice, had been arrested for the murder of Michael Moon and Joey had been devastated. Lauren had immediately gone to see him and told him that she would be there for him when he needed to talk, when he needed comfort and they had repaired their friendship. She tried to talk to Joey about her illness, her alcoholism but he didn't seem to understand that she wasn't "cured" that this was something that she would live with for the rest of her life. He just shrugged and told her that she was better now and that he knew that she wouldn't be that stupid again.
Her new romantic relationship with Jake seemed to be going from strength to strength until she discovered that his wife was going to take him back and that he had decided to give his marriage another shot, for the sake of their daughter Rosie, he had told Lauren that things between them were over, leaving Lauren feeling hurt, betrayed and humiliated. So she had gone to the one person that she knew she could talk to, that she could rely on.
Joey.
He answered the door in his dressing gown and Lauren was surprised and jealous to discover that he had "company". She was even more surprised to discover that his "company" was in the form of Janine Moon. The wife of the man his sister had been accused of murdering.
She thought she saw regret and guilt on Joey's face when she realised that he had moved on. He had sought her out the next day to make sure that she was okay. She had lied and said that she was, that she was just having problems with her new fella, made a joke that she was still a drama queen and that she was sure that things would work out. She didn't ask him about Janine, to be honest even though she was very curious, she didn't want to know.
Lauren was jealous, incredibly so. Admittedly she didn't want him but that didn't mean that she wanted anyone else to have him either. Yes she knew that that was selfish, but it was just the way she felt. She also thought that Joey could do so much better than Janine, she just didn't seem to be his type. Older, recently widowed with a kid.
So she threw herself into her relationship with Jake, trying everything that she could to get him to start seeing her again and her attempts worked. She was seeing Jake again. She was having an affair with a married man. She had got what she wanted and she was happier than she could ever remember being.
There was a little bit of a cloud in her silver lining, after Janine had discovered that her own relationship with Joey had been a ploy to get Janine to admit that she was responsible for the death of Michael and not his sister, to cut a long story short, Janine had been arrested and Alice was released. Joey had decided that he was going to take her away from the square and on Boxing Day 2013 he had told Lauren that he was leaving, that with his sister returning to his mothers and with the R&R being run by Roxy and Ronnie again, he had lost his job and there was nothing left to keep him in the square anymore. She was surprised by how upset this made her feel. In truth she was a little hurt that SHE wasn't reason enough for him to stay. She didn't want him to go. She wanted him to be around when she needed him. Surprising her even more, he told her that he still loved her and that he wanted her to come with him and then he had kissed her.
She had told him no. That she was happy with her life here in Walford, she had admitted to Joey that she loved him, that she would always love him and she was really tempted but right now...this was where she needed to be. This was where she wanted to be.
She frowned, even as she thought about that now; it still brought back the painful feelings that she had then as she'd watched Joey walk away from her; she shook her head, and forced herself to think about happier things.
*L*L*
She yawned and she smiled at how things were now. If someone had told her that three years later she would have got everything that she wanted she wouldn't have believed them. She stretched with a sigh and she rolled over in the bed and she smiled at the man that lay beside her.
"Morning" she murmured softly
"Morning" he replied smiling back at her
"What's for breakfast?" she asked him
"Whatever is in the kitchen" he replied his eyes sparkled "remind me again whose turn was it to buy food yesterday?"
Lauren groaned and she closed her eyes "so it's mouldy bread and half of a bowl of cornflakes to share?" she asked
"I'm not going to deny you a single mouthful of that very appetising sounding breakfast. I am planning to buy myself a nice big fry up in the café"
"Mmm sounds good" she replied rolling towards him "you can buy me one too" she suggested with a smile
"Well if you want me to do that then you will have to earn it" he smiled at her, drawing her closer to him
"Earn it how?" she asked him
A grin spread across his handsome face "you know how" he said as he moved forward and planted a series of small open mouthed kisses along her throat.
"Mmm" she murmured softly as she felt her body reacting to his touch.
She smiled to herself, she was a very lucky girl. She had a beautiful home, a very handsome and sexy boyfriend, a good job illustrating children's books, her boyfriend was very hardworking and successful in his line of work. He was understanding of her illness and knew how she struggled with her addiction every day. He was romantic, often surprising her with candlelit dinners that he had cooked himself, not only was he extremely talented in the bedroom, but his culinary skills were out of this world. Yes Lauren Branning was a very lucky girl. But there was one thing that she wanted more than she wanted anything. She wanted to marry the man that was currently doing wondrous things to her body. She had dropped a lot of hints over two years, leaving bridal magazines lying around, always making sure that when they went out shopping that they paused at jewellery shops so she could point out potential engagements rings to him. Last Christmas she thought he'd taken the hint and her hands were shaking as she opened a little black velvet jewellery box but she had to hide her disappointment when she discovered the gift inside were some very beautiful diamond earrings and not the solitaire diamond ring that she had hoped for.
Of course she couldn't blame him for not wanting to get married, he didn't have the same outlook on marriage that she did. His view of marriage was somewhat tainted by his past.
The lips on her neck were suddenly gone and she frowned and she looked into the eyes of the man she loved.
"You know, this sex thing…. it kind of helps if you are in the same room as me" he told her with a mock annoyed look
"Sorry, I am... my mind had just wandered…" she said sheepishly
"Well that helps my ego a lot. Thank you" he said as he bent his head and he kissed her softly just as her stomach rumbled loudly. "Okay I'll do a deal with you" he told her "I will buy you breakfast at the café if you promise me that after breakfast we can come back to bed?" he asked her
"You have a deal" she replied as she circled her arms around his neck and drew his lips back down to hers.
"Okay come on… get up. The sooner we have breakfast the sooner we can come back to bed" he told her pulling away from her, she nodded and she watched as he climbed out of bed naked and walked out to the bathroom.
*L*L*
After they had eaten and were making their way back to their flat, she glanced at him "So have you thought about my idea?" she asked him, she was worried that he would think that it was silly and childish, but she thought it would be fun
"The 12 days of Christmas idea?" he glanced at her and he nodded his head "Yeah as a matter of fact I have and although I think it's so a certain person doesn't have to wait until Christmas Day to open her presents, I do actually think it's a great idea" he told her
"Yeah?" she looked at him with a grin.
"Yeah I like it" he unlocked the door and let Lauren step inside first. She shrugged off her coat and hung it up on the peg by the door and she made her way towards the bedroom. "It's a good idea, different, unique" he nodded his head "I say we do it" he said as he followed her. "Remind me of the rules again" he asked her as she sat on the bed to take off her boots.
"Well the gifts have to be based on the gifts that are given in the song 12 days of Christmas. If you can't buy the actual thing then the gift you give has to have elements of the gift given in the song"
"So for example?" he frowned as he stripped off his clothes, pulled back the duvet cover and climbed into bed.
"For example…." She frowned as she struggled with the zip on her dress, he sat up behind her and she smiled as she felt him unzip it for her before his lips nuzzled her neck "on the seventh day the gift is seven swans a swimming… since you can't actually buy swans and even if you could we have nowhere to keep them, the gift has to have something to do with swans, water and there has to be seven of them" she explained "and the gifts don't have to be expensive, and they can be silly as you like so they fit in with the theme"
"Okay, got it" he said watching as she stood up and slowly, possibly deliberately took her clothes off "So who goes first?"
"Me" she told him "I already have the perfect gift in mind, then the next day is your turn then my turn and so on" she said as she slipped into bed.
"And when do we start?" he asked her
"Well we both need some time to plan out the gifts, get some ideas so… we start on the 14th December" she said with a smile as she moved forward and kissed him. "And the last present will be given on Christmas Day"
"Done" he replied as he rolled her onto her back "I'm looking forward to seeing what you get me" he told her with a smile
She grinned at him "I already have some ideas and I can't wait to see the look on your face" she told him with a giggle.
He smiled at her "I believe that you and I have a deal Lauren Branning" he reminded her
"Mmm, that's right we do" she slowly trailed her hands up his arms and she slid her fingers into the short hair at the back of his neck as she drew him towards her for a kiss, which he more than willingly gave.
As they kissed their desire for one another took over. Hands softly caressed naked flesh, lips kissed and teased, tongues duelled. Lauren moaned and mewled beneath her lover, digging her nails into his back as he brought her to the peak she was craving, she arched her back and broke the kiss
"Oh god… right there…"she moaned, "…more… more…"he increased his rhythm as he felt her core tighten around him, "OH!" she cried out as she exploded around him, his name falling from her lips over and over, sparking his own release…
Moments later he brushed his nose against hers and then stole a kiss, "I love you Lauren" he murmured against her lips.
She smiled and reached up and cupped his face her hand, she ran her fingers over his chin, feeling the stubble beneath them, her thumb brushed over his lips. "I love you too Joey"
AN: Hi, This is Eastendersfan444 here. Okay so hands up all of you who thought she was with Jake?
So I hope you all get the concept of the story…. Each day Joey and Lauren are going to give each other a gift based on the 12 Days of Christmas song….. The next chapter is also my chapter so I hope you like the gift that Lauren gives Joey.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter.
As always R&R
Next Chapter tomorrow… A Partridge In A Pear Tree by Eastendersfan444