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'You know what I'm slightly insulted that she has us down as next of kin but the first person she asks for when she comes round is Joseph' Sacha broke into the companionable silence between himself, Michael and a sleeping Harry Byrne.

'It's how it should be' Michael answered him quietly, trying not to wake the child sleeping contently against his shoulder. 'Who'd have thought he'd come back huh?' he gave a wry smile.

'Let's just hope he doesn't leave her again' Sacha crossed his arms 'she cried proper tears last time, I actually witnessed them'

'He knows what he has and he's tried being apart from her, knows it doesn't work' Michael stifled a yawn. 'Besides I don't think the kid here will let them separate.'

'True enough' Sacha nodded. 'I can't wait to see Lady Byrne's reaction when she finds out Joseph's back working in Holby and moved in with Jac' he chuckled.

'You mean she doesn't know?' Michael queried.

'According to Jac Joseph and his mother had a terrific row and they haven't spoken since.'

'Well there's still a lot of contacts of hers still working here I'm sure it won't take long for her to be informed.' Michael lapsed into silence until his curiosity got the better of him 'what did Joseph and his mother fall out over?'

'Apparently Joseph had kept photographs of Jac and his mother found them'

'Urgh' Michael pulled a face.

'Not that sort of photographs' Sacha shook his head 'get your mind out of the gutter, just ones of when they first dated and one of her with Harry. Jac was a bit freaked out herself when she found out he'd kept them.' Sacha yawned as he looked at his watch to see it was twelve thirty in the morning 'I can't believe it was only yesterday morning I had that conversation with her.'

'A lot has happened in the last twenty four hours' Michael agreed as the door to Jac's room opened and a relieved and smiling Joseph Byrne stepped out.

'She's asking to see you Michael' Joseph smiled at the two men, grateful they had one again proven to be such faithful friends.

'Just Michael?' Sacha's face fell with slight disappointment as he watched Michael transferring the sleeping child into Joseph's arms.

'Sorry Sacha, she only wanted to see Michael' Joseph looked at his Jewish friend in sympathy 'she wouldn't say why. I'm going to pop up to Darwin, I said I'd keep them informed, and then I need to work out what to do with Harry here.'

'Put him down in the Darwin on call room for a bit' Michael suggested 'I'm sure they won't mind'

Joseph nodded as he considered the suggestion 'you'll call me, if she needs me?' he asked watching as the two men nodded before he walked away, carefully carrying his sleeping son.

'Well I'd better see what she wants' Michael smiled awkwardly at Sacha before turning away to enter the private room. He gently pushed open the door and closed it quietly behind him. He could see from where he was standing she was sleeping, the bed appearing to swamp her skinny frame and the white sheets accentuating her paleness. He was pleased to see she was no longer in pain, the pain killers and antibiotics being drip fed into her being able to work effectively now the cause had been removed. He quietly walked to the chair and as he lowered himself into it her eyes fluttered open. 'Hey' he smiled at her 'am I glad to see you looking better'

'Michael' she smiled tiredly before closing her eyes once more. He settled himself comfortably in the chair thinking back to the last time he had sat next to her hospital bed whilst she slept, a little over four years ago. 'I wanted to say thank you, for being my person' her softly spoken words cut into his thoughts.

'Hey what else am I good for?' Michael jokingly waved aside her thanks before adding seriously 'I'm sorry they had to remove your ovary'.

'It doesn't...' She swallowed hard forcing herself to be brave 'Joseph says it doesn't matter.'

'He's right, we just need to concentrate on getting you well so you can be mom to Emma' he tried to put as much positivity into his words as his tiredness would allow him.

'And to Harry' Michael could see a soft smile on her lips as she spoke these words. 'Joseph said Harry wants me to be his mother'

'Yeah, and Harry too' Michael returned her soft smile pleased for her 'you just concentrate on those two beautiful kids of yours'

They lapsed into silence for a few minutes before Jac broke into it 'I think Joseph's angry with me, for not telling him about the endometriosis. He said he wasn't but I can always tell.'

'It was a bit of a shock for the poor guy, I'll be honest with you Jac' Michael watched her face as she fought back tears 'he's more frustrated that you didn't trust him enough to tell him'

'I do trust him' Jacs voice cracked slightly with emotion 'I just thought it would be too much what with Emma as well. It felt as though I was asking, expecting, too much.'

'He loves you'

'I know'

'You can be an ass sometimes Jac, you know that don't you?'

'You remind me often enough.'

'What do you want Jac?' he considered her for a moment 'don't answer with your head, answer with your heart. What do you really want out of life?'

Jac lay with her eyes closed for a while before answering 'I want to take my daughter home, to a proper home, with Joseph and Harry. I want to just spend my life with them.'

'That sounds good doesn't it?' Michael smiled at her 'and you know what the best bit is?'

'I'm sure you're about to tell me' she rolled her eyes at him.

'It's the same thing Joseph wants so it's yours for the taking. The next time he asks you to marry him, answer yes will you?'

'I'll be sure to consider your opinion on the matter, should he be insane enough to ask again.'

'You don't get too many people in this life you can just be with, if you know what I mean.' Michael decided to empathise his point.

'I know that Michael, why do you think I was so upset the last time he left?' she rolled her eyes at him again.

'Right so make sure you don't let him go. Hold onto him, don't push him away. Let him in on whatever crazy little thoughts…'

'Michael?' Jac interrupted his train of thought as loudly as she could.

'Yeah?'

'Shut up' Jac closed her eyes again as they lapsed into a peaceful silence once more.

Michael fiddled with his hands for a while before bravely broaching the subject of Sacha. 'Why don't you want to see Levy? Not that the answer really matters because he's as drunk as a skunk at the moment'

'Because I'm mad at him.' Jac didn't bother to open her eyes as she spoke to him 'and I'm not surprised he's drunk, it's a Jewish thing; someone has a baby you shorten your own life span by smoking a cigar and drinking your own body weight in alcohol.'

'What'd he do?'

'He told Jonny about my mother, although not the whole story because otherwise I'd be livid and not just mad' She opened her eyes to look at Michael 'I just don't want to see him until I'm not mad at him, else he'll just irritate me.'

'Oh ok' Michael looked a bit bemused. Jac closed her eyes as they lapsed into silence again, only for it to be broken once more by Michaels questioning 'so how come you didn't tell Jonny about your mother?'

'Why would I?' Jac sighed 'maternal abandonment never really came up in conversation when we were together.'

'Didn't he ever wonder why you've got a massive scar and only one kidney?' Michael pressed on taking full advantage of the fact Jac couldn't walk away from his questioning.

'He asked me where I got the scar from; I told him you'd done it so I guess he just assumed it was a botched appendectomy because he never asked again.'

'Hey! No need to drag my name though the mud, besides it's partly your stubborn fault it ended up so messy.'

'He also asked why I've got scars on my ribs, I told him Elliot was responsible for those and he never questioned that either. Jonny Maconie is just not a man for details.'

'Maybe it was your delightful way of being cagey about the details, you know it might have put him off digging a little…' Michael let his voice trial off as Jac sighed dramatically to show her annoyance.

'You may find this hard to believe Michael but it isn't fun revealing dirty secrets from your past, especially when the person you're telling them too has no real idea of how it felt.'

'None of it was your fault Jac' Michael spoke softly to her.

'See? That's just the sort of useless thing someone who has no idea feels the need to say. So it's just easier not to talk about it' Jac sighed.

'Sorry' Michael mumbled.

'It's not your fault either' Jac mumbled sleepily as she closed her eyes. 'At least Joseph gets it.'

'I'll leave you to get some rest' Michael offered as he stood up from the chair.

'No don't go' Jac spoke sleepily 'stay with me please?'

'Sure' Michael smiled as he sat back down.

'I don't want to be on my own'

'It's ok, I'm not going anywhere. Although we really must stop doing this, the nurse's will start to talk.'

'Hmmm' Jac mumbled starting to let sleep overcome her. 'Did Joseph really tell you he wants to spend his life with me?'

'He sure did, he said he loves you, he wants to raise Harry and Emma with you and he wants to marry you.' Michael lowered the tone of his voice as he watched Jac slip into a slumber. 'You are one lucky girl Naylor, hundreds of women out there would kill for the devotion of Mr Joseph Byrne. Although none of them deserve him more than you do.'