Hayley...

It hurt her to do it, but she felt like she had no choice. She couldn't ruin his marriage, even if not telling him the truth would cost her happiness.

Jac ran into the staffroom and shut the door, pressing her back up against it and raggedly breathing.

He'd followed her, she was sure of it. She'd heard about his and Faye's discussion, and she knew that he was a tiny, marginal bit off completely and utterly unearthing her secret. She couldn't let that happen. He'd hate her forever, even more than he hated her now.

Going to her locker, she got out a few pictures that she'd prepared just in case, wanting to be ready for any eventuality.

And that's when he came in, slamming the door behind him.

'You manipulative bitch!' he spat at her. 'Didn't you think that I'd find out about your little secret? That cover story was pitiful! Were you really expecting me to think that someone would like you that much and think of you as a role model that much that they'd ask you to be godmother to their unborn child? Don't make me laugh Jac!'

'I'm not lying Joseph,' she shouted back at him.

'How do I know that you're not lying Jac?' he asked in fury. 'You've lied to me so many times in the past, how do I know that you're telling the truth!?!'

'See these?' she said, thrusting the pictures into his hand. 'Look at them!'

He looked at them suspiciously.

'That was Tilly and George's wedding, 4 years ago,' said Jac. 'It was just before I came to work here. And there's me, in the picture. The other picture is a recent picture of a pregnant Tilly, see? Her bump is only small, but it's still there. And here's a letter that they wrote to me, asking me to be godmother when their son or daughter was born.'

'So you're not pregnant?' he asked. 'Someone really is stupid enough to ask you to be godmother? Wow there is something wrong with the world.'

'No Joseph, I'm not pregnant, and obviously, my friends are stupid enough to ask me,' said Jac, hurt. 'I can have friends Joseph, and I do have friends, so get that disbelieving poker out of your backside and go back to your life!'

'I'm elated that you're not pregnant Jac. Because if you were, that poor kid would be the unluckiest in the world, having to suffer being raised by a mother like you!' he exclaimed.

'Go away!' she roared back at him.

'With pleasure,' he said, leaving the room.

As he left the room, Jac burst into hysterical crying, clearing the table of its contents with one sweeping hit. Her anger satisfied for the moment, she sat on a chair and began to weep in sorrow, holding her stomach as if to protect her baby from her emotional despair.

Still crying, she felt a small movement. Gasping, she began to move her hand over her bump so that she could find where it was coming from. And there is was again. That small movement, that small twitch that felt like a little kick. As if by magic, her anger subsided, and she began to stroke her little bump, giving a small smile.

'You really do know how to make me feel better, my little baby,' she said softly.

Going to the mirror, she wiped her eyes and tried to make herself look like she hadn't been crying. After a few minutes, she was beginning to resemble her normal self.

Leaving the staff room, she walked up the corridor, and found herself walking past Connie Beauchamp.

'Jac,' said Connie. 'A word please?'

'Yes Mrs Beauchamp,' she said, walking behind her into the office that Connie and Elliot shared.

'Take a seat please,' said Connie as they got in.

Jac sat down, in a slight phase of confusion. Why was she here?

'When were you going to tell people?' asked Connie.

'Tell people what?' replied Jac.

'I'm not stupid Jac,' she replied. 'And I have been there before. You can't hide it for much longer I'm gathering?'

'He can't know,' said Jac, bowing her head.

'So you are pregnant then? I'd extend my congratulations, but you don't seem too happy about it?' she replied, her tone curious. 'I gather that it's someone I know who's the father seeing as you're saying that he can't know...Sam perhaps? Or Joseph maybe?'

'Joseph,' she said quietly. 'See why no one can know? He's getting married!'

'How far?' asked Connie.

'Just gone 16 weeks,' replied Jac quietly.

'You've hidden it well,' remarked Connie. 'I didn't even make it past 8 weeks without people noticing.'

'Why am I here?' asked Jac in confusion.

'I received this piece of paperwork on my desk this morning,' said Connie. 'It's a request for around 7 months of leave for you, beginning one month from today. You're planning on hiding this from Joseph, aren't you?'

Nodding, Jac said, 'I can't be selfish. He'll hate me if he knows. In fact, I've just got back from an argument with him where, after me convincing him that I'm not pregnant, he remarked and basically said it's all good and well, he'd feel sorry for my baby having to grow up with a mother like me.'

Standing up and placing her hand on Jac's shoulder, in a very un-Connie-like display of warmth. 'People said that about me when I was pregnant with Grace. All that you can do is love your baby 100% and prove to those idiots that you can and will be a good mother to that baby.'

'I'm going to,' said Jac proudly. 'I'll prove him wrong. I'll go to Ireland, have my baby, recuperate, then come back and carry on as normal.'