Part 3

Kelly watched from inside Tom's office as Alex attempted to discipline Matt for his actions. It was obvious by the expression on both faces that Alex was failing terribly. Right now, she'd give anything to be out of there…maybe she wasn't quite ready to face the Boss about this…

It appeared that Tom had similar thoughts on his mind. He seemed uncomfortable with what was going on…understandably so. Kelly didn't know what to say to him…or even if she wanted to forgive him.

Two different scenarios were playing out in Kelly's mind. The first was a 'happily ever after' kind of story, where Tom turned out to be her father, and they embraced the relationship between them. The second was a more sour one, where Kelly couldn't even look her Boss in the eye and ended up ostracised from everyone she loved.

Tom had never done her wrong; Kelly pondered as she regarded him as coolly as she could. If he had ever actually done anything wrong, it was care about her too much. And the only issue Kelly had with that point was that there could be a secret motive behind it.

He paced before her, mumbling to himself under his breath. Kelly caught occasionally snatches of his ramblings, and most of it was self-blame. It was obvious that he was wearing this situation heavily on his conscience…and Kelly didn't know if that was how she wanted him to think of it like that or not. Could he be worth forgiving?

Finally, Tom stopped and turned to Kelly slowly, and she was taken aback by the guilt in his eyes. It struck her hard that he was being punished for this every day of his life, but had hidden his pain nevertheless…from Nell, his daughters, Grace…

"This was not how it was meant to happen…you weren't meant to find out this way…" Tom said in kind and gentle tones that Kelly hadn't heard in well over a year. He drew in a deep breath and glanced briefly around his office before returning those guilt-ridden eyes to Kelly. "Your mother was meant to tell you…give you the letter when you were ready…I thought she'd decided not to after your father died."

Tom began pacing again, obviously becoming nervous again. It seemed he was lost for words, and so was Kelly. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense…kind of. Her mother had hidden it not only to protect herself and Tom, but Kelly and her father as well…not that it made everything seem okay in Kelly's mind, though.

Kelly followed the Boss with her eyes as he moved around the floor of his office. He had returned to mumbling to himself, desperately wishing that it wasn't him that had to explain this…he had never planned to be the one to have to.

"You were grieving," Tom said, taking Kelly by surprise as he stopped suddenly and turned to her. "After seeing you mourn your father…your mother couldn't bear to let you know this. She told me that she had destroyed the letter…how you ended up with it I have no idea…" He trailed off and finally dared himself to meet Kelly's gaze. Her eyes softened in response…perhaps she was being too hard on the Boss. "Have you told your mother yet?"

She shook her head and leant against the window. Truth was, she didn't know what to say. She had thought about telling her mother…but each time she considered it, only insults and tears came to mind. So Kelly had decided against it for now.

"What could I say?" Kelly answered finally, and realised just how the one statement summed up the whole situation. What could she say to Tom, to let him know just how she felt? What could she say to Alex, to excuse all this irrational behaviour? What could she say to Matt, to let him know how much she appreciated him being there?

Tom nodded understandingly – or at least, pretend understanding – and turned his gaze away. Kelly watched as he sat down at his desk and rested his head in his hands. Part of her wanted to tell him that it was fine, and that she could understand now, but another part still remained unconvinced. Another part of her was still feeling betrayed and hurt by those she loved most…she wasn't sure if Tom could ever be entirely forgiven.

A loud knock came at the door, and the two looked up in surprise to see Alex standing there. He seemed to have realised that he had walked in on a tender moment, and was not at all sure of himself.

"What would you like me to do about Matt, Boss?" Alex asked, switching his gaze from Kelly to Tom and back again.

Tom looked to Kelly, who had set her gaze on Matt, who was sitting at his desk, obviously concerned for her emotional welfare. She couldn't blame him…she had just been crying on his shoulder for most of the afternoon.

"I think going home with O'Rourke might be the way to go…as long as she agrees, that is." Tom said, and Alex turned to her. Kelly looked up in surprise and nodded.

"Yeah…whatever," she mumbled as she stood up and walked out, feeling hurt that the whole situation had just been pushed to one side by Tom.

Matt opened the door to his room and Kelly was surprised by its messiness. For some reason, she had always picked Matt to be a bit of a neat freak, but it appeared to be anything but the case. She narrowed her eyes as she noticed the smashed mirror, and turned to Matt expectantly. Kelly opened her mouth to respond, but he anticipated it and laughed.

"Would you believe me if I said that I punched myself in the face?" Matt said as he flopped down on his bed. Kelly remained in the doorway, looking around with uncertainty. "I know it's a mess…unfortunately, search warrants don't include a 'clean-up' clause. Or maybe that should be fortunately…"

Kelly made her way through the mess and joined Matt on the bed. She tried to push all thoughts of Tom Croydon and letters from her mind…she just wanted to unwind and enjoy an evening with Matt.

"How about we watch one of the Graham family's home movies?" Matt suggested as he stood up and began to search through a messy drawer. Kelly craned her head to watch him as he drew out an old VHS tape and waved it in front of her. "With any luck, I'll have you laughing within the next ten minutes."

"You obviously never met my family, then," Kelly said as a smile spread across her face. She remembered the O'Rourke family barbeques fondly. All her cousins would come over, and they'd play cricket or footy or something in the backyard. It was really very cliché, but Kelly could never have imagined her childhood being any other way.

Matt chuckled to himself and pushed the tape into the VCR. Sure enough, Matt was true to his promise. Kelly was laughing as soon as Matt, no older than one-year-old, appeared on screen, toddling around wearing little more than a nappy. He appeared to have gained possession of the talcum powder, and was squeezing it all over the place. A woman – Matt's mother, Kelly presumed – was chasing after him, attempting to coax Matt back into her arms.

"That's mum," Matt supplied, and Kelly turned to him with a start. "She was really nice…and so pretty…"

"Was?" Kelly asked curiously as she watched sadness creep into Matt's eyes.

"She died…shot when I was eleven." Matt explained, and Kelly recalled Matt's story from the counsellor's. She hadn't heard it herself, but word travelled pretty fast in Mount Thomas. Alex had told her about it, and about how Matt had flatly denied it's truthfulness. "I never knew that dad was the violent type…" Matt continued, apparently forgetting Kelly was right beside him.

Her eyes clouded over with tears for Matt and took his hand in her's. She rubbed it gently as Matt stopped the tape and held his head in his free hand. Kelly kept her eyes fixed on Matt's expression, and was surprised when she saw a couple of tears slide down his cheek. She wiped them away and leant forward.

Kelly let her lips brush against Matt's, and immediately his tears stopped. They let their gazes meet, and both were surprised by the pleasure in the other's eyes.

"I…I think I like you," Kelly whispered softly. Matt responded by giving Kelly a tender kiss on the lips.

"I think I like you too."