CHAPTER ELEVEN

"I'm so glad Kit has agreed to be a bridesmaid," Martha told Tasha.

"Yeah, me too! I'm glad that both you and Kit have agreed," Tasha exclaimed.

"Can you two please stop talking about the wedding? Even if it's just for a minute. It's the only thing you've talked about all day," Robbie whinged.

"Your wedding is going to be the most important day of your life. Aren't you excited? How can you not want to talk about it?" Martha asked, giving him a dirty look.

"I never said I wasn't excited about it," Robbie said defending himself. "I'm just saying that when you've got two girls constantly yakking about the same thing for hours on end; it gets boring," he continued.

"He's right," Jack agreed, sticking up for his mate.

"Well, if you don't like it; take a hike. The doors thatta way," Martha said, pointing towards the door of the diner.

"Believe me, I would, but desserts on its way and there's no way I'm missing out on that," Robbie exclaimed, when he noticed Irene walking towards them with a tray.

"You are such a pig," Tasha giggled.

"I love you too!" Robbie smiled sarcastically.

"Alright you two, stop your yapping. Get this into ya," Irene said, placing the desserts in front of them.

"Yum Yum bubble gum," Robbie chanted, while rubbing his stomach gleefully.

"Chocolate chip cheese cake, my favourite," Martha sighed happily as she looked down at her plate. She'd been craving this since lunch, and she could not wait until it touched her lips. She picked up her spoon and dug it into her dessert. She lifted it to her mouth and quickly shovelled it in.

"Mmmm, and it never fails to please me," she continued, while swallowing it down.

"Just like me," Jack exclaimed from beside her.

Martha turned her head to look at Jack and smiled. "Just like you baby," she said; leaning towards him and kissing him fully on the lips.

"Hey, no fair. I'm feeling neglected. I want a kiss with my dessert," Robbie cried.

"Tasha……take care of it," Martha shot out, and then went back to kissing Jack.

Tasha laughed and lent towards Robbie giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

Robbie smiled, but then noticed that Martha was still kissing Jack. "Okay, that's enough. I'm trying to eat here," he exclaimed.

Martha slowly pulled away and looked at Robbie. "I'm so sorry Mr Sooky pants," she said sarcastically before looking back at Jack. "I'll make it up to you later," she smiled seductively at him.

"I'm looking forward to it," Jack grinned.

"Ah guys, I hate to break up the band, but we have company," Robbie exclaimed, indicating towards the door.

Martha looked up and groaned when she saw Megan walking towards them. "There goes what was left of my appetite," she muttered under her breath.

Martha had only seen Megan a few times over the week, but that was already a few times too many. But Martha always made sure that she was polite. Well, except for that one day last week when she had kissed Jack just to piss her off.

"Hey guys, I hope I'm not interrupting," Megan smiled at them when she reached the table.

"Hey," they all said at the same time.

"Oh, congratulations by the way," Megan said to Tasha and Robbie. "I heard that the two of you are getting married," she continued.

"Thanks," Tasha and Robbie said.

Megan then looked at Jack. "I just wanted to let you know that mum is bringing Gracie down for a few days tomorrow. What time can I bring her to see you?" she asked Jack.

Jack who was clearly not expecting any of this didn't know what to say. "Um, I guess anytime would be fine," he replied.

"Okay, well I'll come round sometime after lunch then," she said excitedly. "And Martha, I think you should be there aswell. I'm sure you're going to be a big part of Gracie's life in the future. I think it would be nice for you to get to know her," she finished, sounding quite sincere.

Martha was shocked. She couldn't believe that Megan had asked her to join them. Maybe Megan was okay after all. "Thanks. I'd like that," Martha smiled at her.

"Cool. Well, I leave you guys to it. See ya tomorrow," Megan waved, and walked out.

"That was weird," Robbie exclaimed. "Was it just me or was she being way to nice?" he asked.

"It wasn't just you mate," Jack scoffed.

After dinner Martha and Jack made their way up to Martha and Alf's apartment. They sat on the couch together watching TV. Alf was closing Noah's, so he wouldn't be home for awhile.

Martha had her head resting on Jack's chest, and he was softly running his fingers through her hair. "Are you okay? You've been really quiet since we spoke to Megan," Martha asked.

Jack sighed. "I guess I'm just nervous about tomorrow," he said. "I don't think I'm ready for this," he continued.

Martha sat up quickly; curious to know what he meant by that. "What do you mean? Don't you want to be a dad?" she questioned.

"No, I don't," he said honestly. "Not right now, anyway," Jack told her.

Martha couldn't help but feel disappointed, and she tried not to show it in her face. This just proved to her that she was doing the right thing by not telling Jack she was pregnant. He didn't want to be a father.

"Of course I want to have kids in the future. But I just thought that those kids would be with you; not someone else," Jack then explained.

Martha smiled softly at him. "Me too," she said.

"You're the best, you know that?" Jack said. "I'm so lucky to have you. I love that we can tell each other everything. And I know that you would never keep anything from me," he kept on.

Martha felt so guilty. If only Jack knew that she was keeping something from him. She was keeping the biggest secret of all.

"Now, down in the diner earlier, you said something about making it up to me," Jack spoke, interrupting Martha from her thoughts.

She looked up into his face and smiled. "Hmmm, thanks for reminding me," she flirted.

Jack cupped her face in his hands, and lent down to kiss her. Martha wrapped her arms around Jack's neck and lay back onto the couch with Jack's lips following her down. She let herself get lost in his kisses and caresses, and eventually all her bad thoughts drifted away.

"I think I just heard Megan's car pull up," Lucas said.

Martha sat on the couch beside Jack; holding his hand. She looked at him; giving him a reassuring smile. She knew he was nervous about meeting his daughter for the first time.

"Are you ready mate?" Tony asked his son.

Jack sighed. "I have to be. I don't have a choice," he said standing up.

"Hey," Megan's cheerful voice called from the door.

"Come in Megan," Tony invited her in.

Martha watched as Megan stepped into the house, carrying the little girl on her hip. "Everyone, this is Grace," Megan smiled. Grace buried her head into her mothers chest; trying to hide. "Sorry, she's a bit shy around people she's never met," Megan laughed, as she placed the small child on the floor.

Martha looked at Jack; he was still standing in the same spot. He obviously didn't know what to say or do. "Go say hi," Martha said, nudging him forward.

Jack slowly started shuffling towards Megan and Grace, and when he reached them, he got down on his knee so that he could look at Grace. "Hi," he smiled at Grace.

"Gracie, this is your daddy," Megan spoke softly to her daughter.

It was at this moment that Martha felt a pain in her heart. She had honestly thought that she was going to be okay, and she had accepted the fact that Jack was a father to another women's child. But hearing Megan refer to Jack as Gracie's daddy; it actually hurt. All the insecurities that she had felt the week before were now coming back in full force. But she had to stay strong. She had to keep up the happy façade.

"I'll make us some coffees," she offered.

"That would be great, thanks," Megan smiled up at her.

"We will help you," Tony suggested, and pulled Lucas towards the kitchen with him. "Give Jack some time alone with them".

Martha sat at the kitchen bench with Tony and Lucas. They were all watching intently as Jack gently spoke to Grace. Megan had a huge grin on her face.

Martha looked at Grace; taking in her features. She was just like Megan; a spitting image of her. She had the same blonde hair, and bright green eyes. Martha tried to find a resemblance between her and Jack, but she couldn't.

"She doesn't really look like Jack, does she?" Tony said in a low voice, breaking her thoughts.

Martha smiled lightly at him. "I was just thinking the same thing. But not every kid has to look like their parents," she started. "Grace obviously just takes after Megan's side of the family," she finished.

"How are you with all this?" Tony then asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, this has to be pretty rough on you," Lucas added.

"I'm okay. It is hard, but it's just something that I'm going to have to accept," Martha smiled weakly.

"If you ever need to talk, remember, we're always here for you," Tony exclaimed, patting her hand.

"Thanks," Martha smiled.

Martha then heard a small giggle. She looked up and could see Jack tickling Grace. He's going to be a great dad, Martha thought to herself.

Martha gently smoothed her hand down her stomach; over her own baby. She'd come to a decision; she was going to tell Jack. And it was going to be soon.