Chapter 3 is here! Hope you're liking this story!

Chapter 3- 6:22 am 6th September 2016

For the second morning in a row, Lucy couldn't sleep. She brought her hands up to her face and realised that tears were slowly slipping down her face, she rubbed them away. She'd only slept fitfully and only for an hour at most. She was having nightmares, like the one she had had the day before, dreams that were more like memories; and memories that she didn't want to remember because they hurt. She sighed and turned over, so that she was facing away from Joey. The worse dream had been one where she'd come back from the clinic, she had been losing her baby; the worst part was that they'd lied to Jane and said that she was miscarrying. She slowly sat up in bed, for six years she done a good job of pushing these memories to the back of her mind, but sometimes the odd one would break through but normally they stayed forgotten; now it was different- her memories were all she could think about.

She rubbed her temple as she climbed out of the bed, when she heard Joey speak. "Lucy, where are going?" Joey asked. "How long have you been awake?" Lucy asked him, inquisitively. He gave a small smile. "Long enough to see you wake up, crying." She cursed herself, she shouldn't have cried but then again she had been so upset. "Oh." Lucy let slip. She gingerly closed her eyes but snapped them open a second later when the reel started up again. "Are you all right?" He asked and she could hear the concern in his voice. "I guess it's just hormones." She said, lying through her teeth; but Joey seemed to swallow her story. "Okay." He said, slowly. "But tell me, if anything's up, okay?" Lucy nodded and walked out of the room.

Lucy had tried sleeping on the sofa, but it had just brought back other painful memories. She had given up trying to sleep and was watching the TV, the volume on extremely quiet. She wanted o talk to someone, confined in them her worries. She took her phone out and didn't know whose number to call, Peter's or Whitney. She decided against calling Whitney and found Peter's number again. After a couple of rings Peter answered. "Peter, Peter?" Lucy spoke. "Luce, what's up? You're calling me even earlier today." She was comforted by the sound of his voice, again. "I don't think I can do it, Peter." She said. "Why not? You're Lucy Beale, you can do anything. Remember, you're as stubborn as anything." Lucy laughed at his comment, before going quiet. "The memories, Peter, memories that I've tried to forget even existed for the past six years. They're all coming back, and I can't sleep, I can't even close my eyes without a memory coming back. The worse thing is Peter, all these memories, they hurt. I don't want to remember them. I want to forget. Make them stop, Peter." She was shaking now. "It's alright, Lucy, it's all alright. Calm down, it going to be alright, oaky. You're tough, Luce so you'll be fine. You want this baby, so just push them away, be that stubborn Lucy I know and love." Lucy nodded. "Thank you." Lucy replied. "That's what brothers are for, isn't it? Bye Luce." Lucy brought the phone away from her ear and pressed the end call button.

Peter had made it sound so easy to push the memories away, but it proved to be harder than Lucy had imagined. Still, it made it a little more bearable, this way. Joey came down stairs a little after seven and for a while they sat in silence round the kitchen table. "Well, I thought today would be as good a day as any to tell dad he's going to be a granddad." Joey announced standing up. "Invite him over, we'll tell him together, if that's alright." Joey nodded, pulling his phone out. "If we tell him, it could well be around the square by this evening." Joey nodded in agreement with her statement. "Should we publicly announce it?" Lucy asked him, once he'd gotten off the phone to Derek. "Well, who knows at the moment? Your dad, and soon to be my dad and that's it?" Lucy interrupted him. "Well, I sort of told Whitney. And my brother, Peter, he knows." Joey nodded. "Maybe we should just leave gossip to its natural course? And if we get asked, we'll tell the truth, is that fine?" Joey outlined his idea. Lucy nodded in agreement. "Dad's coming round later." Joey added.

A couple of hours later there was a load knock at the door and Lucy winced. "Derek here, then Joey?" Joey walked over to the door and swung it open, revealing Derek Branning standing on the other side. "Seems he is, Luce." He called back. "Come in, dad." Derek walked in and promptly sat down on the sofa. "What d'ya want?" Derek asked. Lucy sat down on a chair and Joey stood next to her. "We have some news, Derek." Lucy started. Joey finished it off. "You're going to be a granddad!" Joey announced in a loud, happy tone. The look on Derek's face was priceless, but soon it turned into one of anger. "Out." He said, gesturing at Lucy. Lucy frowned but complied with Derek's order.

"How old are you, son?" Derek spat out. "Twenty-two, old enough, dad." Joey replied, anger filling his voice. Derek shook his head, in frustration. "You have gotten Lucy Beale pregnant, Joey. Lucy Beale!" Derek shouted angrily. "What's wrong with Lucy?" He shouted in return. Derek shook his head, laughing. "Her dad's Ian and she's a manipulative, evil cow. Are you even sure the baby's yours?" Derek said, gleefully tormenting Joey about Lucy. "What are you saying?" Joey shouted back. "Maybe you should ask her about Leon? You might find out you don't really know the girl that is supposedly carrying your child." Derek said, and at that moment Lucy walked in, having heard the whole conversation. "Joey, please leave me and your father to talk please." Lucy demanded. Joey walked out of the room, a puzzled expression on his face. "How the hell do you know about Leon?" Lucy shouted, not caring who heard. "Let's say I have my sources, my sweet." She shook her head. "You really don't like me, do you? You're trying to turn him against me. I t won't work, Derek, because this is his baby, alright? Now get out of my house!" Derek fled the house and Lucy was left standing in the middle of the living room, breathing heavily.

She found Joey a couple of minutes later, sitting on their bed. "Joey, are you alright?" Lucy asked. "Is it mine?" Joey asked, bluntly. For a second Lucy was taken back to the Queen Vic, and when Leon had…no she had to concentrate on the here and now. "Of course it is!" Lucy shouted. "You don't actually believe what Derek said?" Lucy said, incredulously. "So you won't mind telling me who Leon is?" Lucy went silent. "We're having a baby together, we can't have secrets, Luce, who is he?" Joey asked, again. Lucy shook her head. "Maybe some secrets are best kept hidden." Lucy answered. "No there not!" Lucy shook her head. "No, no, no!." She screamed. "I don't want to remember, Joey. It hurts." The room went silent again. "You're just going to have to believe me, okay?" After a small pause slowly, Joey nodded. "Promise me, this is the only secret?" Lucy nodded quickly. "I've told you everything else." Lucy leant down and they kissed, but there was still a troubled expression on Joey's face. The kiss was interrupted by Lucy's phone beeping. She reached her head into her pocket and retrieved the device. The message read:

Come to the Vic, now! Bring Joey! Lots of Love from Whitney xxxx

Lucy laughed at her friend's bizarre text. "What does it say?" Joey asked. In replied Lucy turned the phone so that Joey could read it. They both frowned, and then Lucy smiled. "Let's go then!"

They arrived at the Vic a couple of minutes later. As they walked into the pub a raucous cheer went up. "Surprise!" Joey and Lucy glanced around the Vic and saw banner's reading congratulations and party decorations strewn around the room. In the centre of the room were Whitney, Tyler, Lauren, Alice, Fatboy and Anthony. "Whitney!" Lucy exclaimed. She looked around the pub and was surprised to see that apart from the six in the middle it was empty. Whitney walked up to her. "We thought you'd like a party!" Whitney told her. She leant in and whispered in her ear. "Only Fats and Lauren know about before and I told them to shut their mouths, so..." Whitney trailed off and Lucy nodded and smiled. "Thanks." She gave Whitney a hug.

The spent the rest of the evening playing games and, apart from Lucy, drinking. She glanced around the table. Tyler had his arm around Whitney, and Lucy smiled; Whitney was happy. Lauren was surprisingly curled up next to Anthony; Lucy thought that maybe it was too soon after Kyle but Ant was a nice guy. She also noticed that Lauren wasn't drinking alcohol, instead a glass of lemonade sat in front of her. It wasn't surprising that Lauren didn't touch alcohol anymore, after her battles in the past. She continued her glance around the room. "Joey, why are you drinking lemonade?" Joey gave her a cheeky grin. "I've got to look after you." Lucy shook her head. "But I-" Joey cut her off. "No but's." She shook head again as Joey pulled her into a hug.

They were too busy playing truth or dare to notice a dark brown haired man slip into the Pub. They didn't notice him come up to there table, until Whitney glanced up. "Oh god…Luce you might want to look behind you." Lucy frowned, and disentangled herself from Joey's arms. She looked up just as the man spoke. "Long time no see, Luce." Lucy didn't have to see the man's face to recognise him; she had never forgotten the way his voice sounded…

Ooh a little cliff-hanger for you all. Hope you like this chapter; I'm still worried about making the character's OOC! Any thoughts to who he is?

Next Chapter: We find out who the mysterious stranger is, but is he a stranger at all...