"You… you're still alive?!" Jac blurted out, still amazed to see the lady standing in front of her. She had gotten so old, she must be in her late seventies.

"Is that the way you greet your mother?" Paula Burrows replied, "so are you going to let me in or…?" she added.

"How dare you?! You gave up the right to call yourself that, years ago! You are not my mum anymore!" Jac said, straight and plain.

"Jac let's do this inside, please?" Paula asked.

Jac wanted to end this once and for all, she decided to let her in, "Whatever it is you need to say, make it quick, I don't have all day," she told her coldly, as she stepped aside to let her in.

"How did you find me anyway?" Jac asked her as they stood feet away from each other behind the closed door.

"Few calls here and there, your reputation precedes you," Paula said.

"I know that… you got a bit of a habit, don't you? You leave me, then turn up after 20 years, then leave me again, then turn up, again, after another 20 years… why did you decide to turn up this time? I hope you're not here to take my other kidney…" Jac said, while Paula listened, ashamed.

"You're mad, I expected that from you, and you have every right to be, what I did was wrong, and that's why I came, I…" Paula started to explain, but she stopped as she spotted a picture frame on a shelf in the hall. She took it in her hands. It was a photo of Jac, Jonny and Amy in the middle, at the park when Amy was about twelve.

"I didn't know you had a daughter, she looks just like you…" she said as she ran her finger over the picture.

"Do you mind?" Jac snapped as she took it from her hands and placed it back.

"You see… this is why I'm here… to meet the family, make amends…I'm sick again, I want to make things right, before I…" Paula tried to explain to Jac, she couldn't bring herself to say the word 'die'.

"Hah! Make amends, after all these years, you seriously think I want to make peace? I'm sorry to crush your dreams, but no, you're not going to meet my daughter, she doesn't even know about you," Jac told her, as she folded her arms against her chest. She ignored what she told her about being sick, she didn't care really.

"Then what did you tell her when she asked why she doesn't know her maternal grandparents? I assumed she did once.." Paula asked, still keeping her distance from Jac.

"I told her, you were dead. That my mum died when I was twelve," Jac said, coldly, "because that, is how long, I've lived without a mum, I had nothing different from an orphan,"

Paula faced the ground; she couldn't look Jac in the eye. She said nothing.

"And if you think, you came here to have some family around not to die alone, then you're sadly mistaken!" Jac was brutally honest, as usual. Paula didn't have the nerve to say anything.

"Now, I have a job to get to. And don't ever dare to come find me again; I want nothing to do with you. This conversation is over." Jac said, as she opened the door, implying she wanted her to leave.

Paula stepped a foot forward and halfway through the door, she faced Jac, "I know I can't turn the clocks back, but if we never speak again, I just want you to know, that… I'm sorry," she said slowly.

Jac looked away. Paula, with tears running down her cheek, stepped outside, and Jac slammed the door shut behind her.

…

Joseph sat at the nurses' station, checking the theatre list on the computer.

Mr Brown – Leading surgeon: Ms Jac Naylor Maconie – Assisting surgeon: Mr Joseph Byrne

Joe smiled. This was the first time he was going to be in theatre again with Jac, after all these years.

Jac approached the desk, with some patient's notes.

"Are those Mr Brown's notes, the one in bed 5?" Joe asked, turning to Jac.

"Yes, the aortic valve replacement, Jonny's prepping him, we're taking him to theatre soon," Jac said, looking at his notes.

"Ah, I'll scrub up then," Joe said, still seated on his chair.

"What?" Jac asked confused, she wasn't really paying attention.

"I'm assisting you, I'm on the list," Joe told her, handing her over the document.

"Fine, don't be late," Jac said with a sigh, as she gave it a quick look, and left it on the desk.

…

After surgery, Jac was not to be found on Darwin. Joseph wanted to speak to her. She wasn't in the ladies. Mo and Jonny were in the staffroom, chatting along, but Joe thought it wasn't a good idea to ask them, he didn't want them to think he was stalking her. Then he thought of outside, she had to be.

And he was right. He was her seated on the wooden bench in the gazebo, in the peace garden. He walked up to her and sat down beside her. Jac looked up at him and down at the ground again.

"I looked all over Darwin for you, you got me worrying, you just didn't seem yourself in theatre," Joe told her.

"I'm always myself Joseph, especially when it comes to my job, which I do very well thank you," Jac said, still looking at the ground.

"Come on Jac, I know something is on your mind, you're not going to fool me, I know you," Joseph said as he placed his hand on her knee.

"Paula came back this morning…" Jac said slowly.

"Paula, as in?" Joseph didn't recall that name for a minute.

"Paula, as in the person I used to call my mother," Jac blurted out, now looking at him.

"Really? are you serious?" Joe was amazed.

"She came knocking on my door, and no, it wasn't a vision if that's what you're implying," Jac added, "she came begging for my forgiveness during her last few days alive,"

"What do you mean?" Joe asked.

"She's sick again, but I don't know what she's suffering from, I don't care, I threw her out, I have too much on my plate right now," Jac explained, "I just can't take all this anymore, Jonny isn't speaking to me, this whole mess with Amy," Jac added as tears started rolling down her face.

"Oh come here, shhh," Joe said as he pulled Jac close, as her head in the crook of his arm, and he stroked her hair, "I don't remember you the crying type?"

Jac gave a smile and pulled away, wiping tears off her face, "you're right… I should get back," she said as she stood up to leave, "and don't you dare tell anyone about this or I'll cut you,"

Joseph smiled at her sarcasm, as she left him on the bench. Deep down, he had to admit, he missed that. He missed her.

…

Jac walked into her house, to see Jonny in the living room, on the sofa, drinking a beer. Jac approached him, and sat down beside him.

"Jonny you know I don't do begging, but could you please, talk to me?" she said as she placed her left arm around his shoulders.

"I've been thinking about Amy, and you're right, maybe it is best if she gives it a go, and we support her decision, I mean there's not much we can do about it now," Jonny said, looking at Jac.

"So we're okay now?" Jac said, smiling at him, hoping they would go back to normal terms.

"Come here," Jonny said as he wrapped his arms around his wife and hugged her tight. Jac didn't say no to that.

Meanwhile Amy arrived home from college, and saw her parents all loved up on the sofa.

"Good to see, you're back to normal," Amy told them, as she saw them all cuddled on the sofa. She assumed they made up.

"Amy, come here," Jonny told her, with his arm around Jac's shoulders on one side and patted the sofa, with his other hand, implying to come sit next to them. Amy joined them.

"My girls!" Jonny exclaimed as he was sitting in the middle of Jac and Amy, with his arms wrapped around them both.

"So you're okay with me, and my decision?" Amy asked her father.

"I understand if you want this, but I hope you won't regret it in the end… have you thought about college?" Jonny asked his daughter.

"Yeah, I am going to keep attending till Christmas, I'll be around 20 weeks by then, then stop and take the rest of the year off, then start over next year," Amy explained her plan to her parents.

"If this is what you want… we will always love you, no matter what," Jac told her.

"Okay, family hug!" Jonny exclaimed as he squashed everyone together.

Thanks for all your reviews so far. Keep reading, there's some good Christmas/New Year stuff coming up! I will update soon x