34

Claire was really surprised to see Liz. Of course she had known that Liz was in Melbourne now but she hadn't expected to practically run into her on the street. In Gungellan maybe or even in Fisher but not in a huge city like Melbourne!

"Liz…what a surprise…" she said not sure if she could handle her at the moment.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" Liz said but she had already pulled up a chair next to Claire. "Have you been out shopping?"

"Umm…yes. Just some things for me to wear and some things for the baby…" Claire didn't want to go into any details. Her food was about to be served and she still needed to call Drovers to let them know she was ok. And she sure didn't want to talk to Tess in front of Liz.

"Claire, did you find him?" Liz couldn't hold herself back anymore. Claire could see she wanted an answer now. And she was sure Liz wouldn't leave till she knew. For a second Claire thought about not telling Liz about Alex but then decided she'd find out anyway if she contacted Bryce.

"Yes, I've found him Liz…" and before she could say more Liz asked "Where is he? Can I see him?"

Claire knew Alex wouldn't appreciate it if she just told his mother where she could find him. Even Bryce hadn't told Claire Alex's home address, just a neutral place where she could find him. But since Alex wouldn't be at the pony club next Saturday Claire couldn't do that. So she decided it would be best to talk to Alex first.

"Liz…Alex is still not really over all that has happened. I wasn't even sure if he wanted to see me…"

"Claire, please! I need to see him!"

"I know but you have to understand him…this is not easy for him. Listen, why don't you tell me where I can reach you and I'll talk to him, all right?" Claire prayed Liz would accept that because if she didn't then she wouldn't know what to do. But thankfully Liz gave in.

"Right, that's a good idea…hold on, I think I have something in here to write everything down for you…" she said and went on to search her purse. When she had found a piece of paper and a pen she wrote everything down and handed it to Claire.

"I'll probably be home every evening, I don't have any plans for this week. Please tell Alex that I love him and that I'm really sorry, will you?" Claire could see the pain Liz's eyes and even though she didn't really care for her she still felt sorry for the woman. Of course she had made a bad choice by not telling Harry and Alex the truth all those years but you could still see she really missed her son. Claire took Liz's hand in hers and pressed it for a second.

"I will, I promise…" she said and could see that Liz was relieved. Now that Liz had a chance of seeing Alex she quickly turned to being her normal self. Nosy and chatty…

"So tell me Claire, what did you buy for the baby?" she said and bent down to look inside the bags. "It's Alex's, isn't it? Oh, I'm so happy…my first grandchild!" Claire was glad Liz was busy with the bags because she felt the deep need to roll her eyes. This was going to be a tough week if she had to deal with Liz all the time…

Just then the waitress appeared with Claire's food. Claire was relieved…maybe she could get rid of Liz now and didn't have to answer her questions.

"Liz…umm…I don't wanna be rude but…my food's here and I need to make some phone calls…"

Liz looked up from the shopping bags "Oh, sorry dear, I don't want to keep you any longer." She looked on her watch "Oh, that late already? Thanks for talking to Alex, I expect your call soon! Goodbye dear!" She kissed Claire on the cheek and was gone before Claire could say anything…

After Claire had finished her lunch she decided it was time to call Drovers again. They should all be in by now to have lunch. Alex had left her his mobile phone along with his office number in case she needed anything.

"Drovers Run…" she heard Meg's familiar voice.

"Meg, this is Claire…"

"Claire! Thank God you call! Are you all right?"

"Yes Meg, I'm sorry, the last few days have been pretty eventful…"

"So you found Alex?"

"Yes I did…umm…could I talk to Tess for a minute?"

"Claire, when you didn't call for so long Tess got really worried something might have happened to you…Claire, Tess is on her way to Melbourne!"

"She's WHAT?" Claire couldn't believe it!

Meg went on to tell her what Tess had told her and finally gave Claire the name of the hotel that Tess and Nick were going to stay at. It was the same hotel she had been at so after hanging up she dialled the number right away but Tess and Nick were not there yet. Claire decided not to leave a message, She wanted to talk to Tess herself…

35

Alex was relieved that the talk to Karen had turned out so well. He really hadn't thought he could just go like that. When he returned to work after they had talked about some details of the farewell-birthday-party it was much easier for him to concentrate and he actually got a few things done. Having worked in this office for the past 7 months had had its good site as well. Having to take care of himself for the first time in his life he was much better with any kind of paper work and he had also learned to take better care of his finances. With the money from the trust fund he had bought his little apartment so he had to live off what he got for working. The company paid him good money so he had really had a good life here. Now he would go back home to having nothing again. That was the only thing that bothered him a little. He had wanted to go back home so badly but at the same time knew he didn't really have anything to do there. Claire had told him that she couldn't keep their horse training business up once he had left and she had found out she was pregnant. But she still had Drovers that was her own. Ok, hers and Tess's but still.

Maybe they could try and get back into training horses once the baby was born…which wasn't really all that far away. 3 weeks…in 3 weeks he'd be a father. Suddenly Alex just had to call Claire. Good thing he had given her his mobile. Quickly he dialled the number but was surprised to find it busy. Who was Claire talking to? Well, he would just have to try again in an hour…

But his patience only lasted 20 minutes then he tried again. This time the line was free and he waited for Claire to answer the phone.

When she picked up he heard her say "How do I…oh…Hello?" Alex laughed. It sounded like Claire was struggling with something.

"Claire? You do know how to use a phone, don't you?" he chuckled.

"Shut up Ryan, I'm carrying a ton of bags in one hand here and because you have to call…"

"Jeez Claire, what did I do? Thought you'd be happy to talk to me…"

"I actually am, had a weird day so far…"
"Weird?" Alex really hoped Claire hadn't gotten lost again.

"Well, first shopping…you know I REALLY like that. Then when I just started to relax in a nice restaurant your mother of all people saw me sitting there…"

"Mum? God Claire I hope you didn't…"

"Calm down Alex, I didn't tell her where you are but we need to talk about it tonight…"

"Claire…" Alex voice sounded as annoyed as he was.

"Come on Alex, after all she's your mother. But let's stop that here, there's something else I need to tell you!"

"That doesn't sound good…"

"Well, depends on how you see it…Tess and Nick are on their way to Melbourne if they're not here already…"

"Huh? Why that? I mean, I can maybe understand why Tess is here but Nick?"

"I don't know Alex, really. Meg could only tell me they were on their way…"

"Well, let's talk about that later, too, ok? The reason why I called is I got good news! I talked to my boss again and my last day at work will be Thursday…"

"That's great Alex! I'm so glad to hear that…I really miss home…"

"I know Claire, I do too!"

Alex then told Claire about the farewell-birthday-party and Claire was really happy she didn't have to do any arrangements. It wasn't really her speciality, especially not when she was pregnant.

"Hey Alex, what do you think about me cooking us something for dinner tonight?" Claire asked.

"Umm…Claire…are you sure that's a good idea? I know all about your tuna casserole…"

Claire smiled, yep that story was a classic. Though she still thought it hadn't tasted all that bad…

"Listen, I'll just make some pasta and buy a finished sauce that you only need to heat up. There's not much I can do wrong, is there?"

"I'm not sure about that Claire…what's wrong about ordering food?"

"It's expensive and it takes ages!"

Alex laughed. "Well, ok. If you promise not to poison me you can cook…"

After a few more words exchanged they finally ended the talk and Claire went on to do the grocery shopping while Alex went back to his paper work…

36

Claire sighed. Cooking really wasn't her thing…she had already cooked the pasta and that hadn't caused any huge problems and the salad was already on the table. Now the only thing left to do was heat up the finished tomato sauce. Claire had put it in a pot but had then left the stove…which ended in red sprinkles all over Alex's kitchen wall and cupboards and Claire herself. Thank God there was still enough sauce left for both of them, even with Alex's huge stomach. And it wasn't even burned. Now she was stirring the sauce and it slowly heated properly. The mess was still all over the place but Claire didn't dare to stop stirring…

That was the way Alex found Claire when he got home. In the kitchen stirring like crazy while covered with tomato sauce from head to toe.

"Jeez McLeod…who did you kill?" He joked and walked over to her. Claire shot him a look that said stop that RIGHT NOW but then she smiled at him and lifted her face so he could give her a kiss. Alex smiled and gently touched her lips with his. Then he paused for a second only to place a second kiss on Claire's lips, this time hungrier and more demanding. Claire kept stirring all the time but it got slower and slower as she enjoyed the kiss more and more. When they both heard that plop, plop of the sauce again Alex jumped back and Claire stirred faster again.

"Careful Claire, I still need that suit…"Alex said.

Claire laughed "Not my fault, YOU kissed ME!" she said and winked at him.

While Alex went to the bedroom to change into something more comfortable Claire decided the sauce was hot enough and placed it on the table next to the pasta and salad. Who had ever said Claire McLeod couldn't fix a nice dinner? She was really pleased with herself…

Alex came back wearing jeans and shirt now but when he looked at Claire he started to laugh. "Claire, you might want to change your clothes, too…you're a bit more red than usual…"

Claire looked down on her dress. "Do you think?" she smirked "I'll just leave that on for dinner and change then. Who knows what will happen while I'm eating…"

They sat down and Claire filled Alex's plate with pasta and added sauce on top. Alex took a doubting look at everything and inhaled the smell. "That smells quite nice…" he said surprised and after taking a first bite he added "…and tastes really good! Wow Claire, never would have thought you could really cook me dinner!"

While eating they talked about what had happened after their phone calls which wasn't really all that much so they soon got back to the Nick and Tess. Claire still hadn't been able to get a hold of Tess but at least she had direct number for the room now and could try again later.

"What do you think Nick wants here?" Alex asked Claire. "You think he came to see me?"

"I would guess so Alex, he's your brother after all and you two haven't seen each other or even talked for 8 months! Don't think why he should be here otherwise. But it's nice for Tess that she doesn't have to travel alone…not that she shouldn't have left Drovers in the first place!"

"Claire, I bet ya she was worried because you haven't called her yet…"
"I know, I know, it's all my fault…"

"I would say I was the one that caused the trouble in the first place but anyway…what do we do with this evening?"

"Clean up the kitchen…" Alex laughed.

And that's what they did. They cleaned the table and then went on to clean the kitchen. Claire had done a good job getting the tomato sauce everywhere and it took a while till everything was clean again…especially because every once in a while Alex would just grab Claire kiss her….

When they were finally finished with cleaning Claire changed into fresh clothes, sweat pants and a shirt she had bought today. Alex was already waiting for her on the couch and they made themselves comfortable in each others arms. It wasn't long till Claire fell asleep in Alex's arms. It had been a long and exhausting day for her. Alex placed a kiss on her hair and was happy just being able to hold her in his arms…

37

A few hours later Claire woke up in Alex's arms once more.

"Hey sleepy head…"Alex said and kissed her on the hair. "What would you think about finishing your sleep in a proper bed?"

Claire lifted her head and moved closer to Alex to kiss him. "What time is it?" she asked with a sleepy voice.

"Almost midnight, why?"

"Oh Alex!" Suddenly Claire was wide awake. "I still haven't called Tess!"

"Bit late now. Do it first thing tomorrow morning…" Alex knew if Claire called Tess now she'd be upset afterwards and they both wouldn't get to sleep any time soon.

"Alex I can't wait, I haven't called her since Friday evening!" Claire got up and started looking for the phone and her purse with the phone number of Tess's room. She found both and went to the bedroom to talk to Tess alone.

'That was my sleep for tonight…' were Alex's thoughts as he leaned back on the couch.

Claire sat down on the bed and dialled the number. After 5 rings she finally heard Tess's sleepy voice "Whoever this is I'm asleep and I have an early start tomorrow so…"

"What the heck were you thinking just leaving Drovers alone and coming here?" Claire was happy to hear Tess's voice but was still mad at her for leaving the farm alone.

"Claire? Is that you?" Tess was awake now.

"No, Santa Claus…of course it's me! Where've you been all evening? I tried to call you but you were not in your room…"

"Hold on Claire, you dare to ask me where I've been? YOU? You didn't call me for 3 days! And I'm not the one who's pregnant and travelling alone! If I find any grey hair now I'll blame it on you! Do you have ANY idea who worried I was?" Tess really got going now that she knew Claire was all right. She had to vent her anger on somebody and Claire had caused this all so she had the right person. "And besides, I didn't leave Drovers "alone", Becky, Jodi and Meg are there working their butts off because you had to take off just like that! And you have the nerve to ask me where I was…HA!"

"Are you finished now?" Claire said a little bit annoyed. She knew Tess was right but it wasn't completely her fault. And it was not like she hadn't called on purpose…

"I think so…" Tess answered.

"Listen Tess, I never meant to worry you but these last days have been quite eventful on my end…"

"Did you find Alex?" Tess was curious now. Claire smiled.

"Yes, I found him. I'm with him now at his apartment. He's in the other room now probably swearing at me because I called you…"

"That's wonderful Claire! How is he? Has he changed? What did he do all this time?"

"Wow Tess, can't you ask one question after the other?"

"Your own fault Claire if you don't tell me anything…"

"Yeah, yeah, get away. I'll tell you everything but could we maybe talk sometime tomorrow and in person? I'm really getting tired here…"

"Ok, I'll let you off the hook for tonight. Where can I find you?"

Claire told Tess the address of Alex's apartment and Tess said she'd be there for a later breakfast. Before they hung up Tess asked "Claire, you know I have Nick with me…Could I bring him? I'm sure he'd like to know about Alex, too…"

"Sure, Alex won't be around anyway, he'll be working. Is that why you brought him? Because he wants to see Alex?"

"That's part of it…"
"And what's the other part?" Now it was Claire who got curious "Anything you wanna tell me?"

"Claire! We're just mates. You know, he was very supportive when I didn't know whether you were alive or dead…"

Claire didn't hear Tess's last comment on purpose and only asked "You sure that's all you are? Mates?"

"Claire!"

After that they said their goodbyes and hung up. Claire was glad she had called Tess, even at such a late hour. She had really missed talking to her sister and she was glad they'd see each other again tomorrow.

Alex stuck his head through the bedroom door. "You alright?" he asked and tried to read Claire's emotions. She smiled at him and said "Yeah, it's fine. Tess will come here tomorrow morning and we'll have a proper chat…"

"You're not upset or anything?" Alex sat down next to Claire and put his arm around her.

Claire frowned. "Why should I?" She looked in Alex's face.

"I thought Tess would give you a hard time because you didn't call her for so long…"

"Well, she did. But she was right, you know? I was a lousy sister these last days just as you were a lousy brother the last 8 months…" Claire said and tipped on Alex's chest. "Nick's here to see you…" She rested her head on Alex's shoulder and pulled him closer. Alex sighed.

"I know and I think I'm glad he is. This whole mess wasn't his fault either. Don't laugh at me but I've really missed my little brother. With you not around I didn't have anybody to have a proper fight with…" Claire laughed. "So that's all you want him for? To have a fight?"

"Claire! You know what I mean…" Alex quickly changed the subject "Could we maybe go to bed now? It's way past midnight and unlike you I'll have to get up early again tomorrow…or rather later today!"

So they both changed into their nightwear and slipped into bed together. Claire made herself comfortable in Alex's arms.

"You know Claire, I really like having you here in bed with me…" Alex said while falling asleep.

"I know." Claire whispered "And you know, there's no place I'd rather be right now…"

Alex placed a kiss on Claire's head. "I love you Claire…" were his last words before he drifted off to sleep…