Jack opened the front door of the house he and Nina had purchased almost four months earlier. He led Nina inside, half carrying her since she had fallen asleep in the car on the way home from the hospital. She was quiet, which scared him, since she was a very talkative person when they were together, but he didn't say anything either, not wishing to upset her.
"Jack, I want to go home," Nina said sleepily to him.
"We are home."
"I mean Erinsborough."
"Soon sweetheart, soon. There's something I need to tell you first."
Nina was wide awake immediately. "What?"
"I had a private investigator follow you all week."
"You what?!"
"Only to get proof."
"Proof of what Jack?"
"What they were doing to you. I don't want you to have to testify if this goes to court."
"Oh." Nina sat on the couch, curled up into a ball as she thought about that. "Did they find anything?"
"Several tapes worth of video evidence, and also some recordings."
"Why didn't you tell me about this?"
"So you wouldn't get upset. It was stupid, not telling you, but I just wanted to protect you."
Nina smiled a little. "You don't need to protect me Jack, I'm capable of doing that myself."
"I know."
"Well, did you tell the police this?"
"Not yet. I wanted you to tell me what you want me to do."
"Tell them. I don't want to go to court Jack. I want to be able to forget all of this so I can go home to Erinsborough, to my friends and family."
Jack nodded. "Okay. I'll take care of that now." He left the room to call the police officer that had helped him find Nina, as well as the PI he had been paying to find evidence.
Nina looked up at her two friends. "That's what you wouldn't tell me, isn't it Lou?"
"Like I said, Jack wanted to be the one to tell you."
"How did you even know?"
"Jack told me his idea, and I helped him put it into action."
"What about you Harold? Did you know about this?"
"Actually, I only found out yesterday, when Lou and I landed at the airport. I wanted to tell you right then and there, but your partner and step-father wouldn't let me," answered Harold truthfully.
"Right. Did you guys ever think about how I could have reacted if I had seen him following me?"
"Honestly, you're reaction would have been nothing compared to the evidence," said Lou softly, trying hard not to upset Nina.
"Seriously? If you had just told me, I would have felt a little bit safer all week long. I wouldn't have stopped him, hell, I would have done as much as I could to help him."
"Alright, you're right, we should have told you. Sorry."
"It's okay," sighed Nina, frustrated. "I understand why you didn't say anything."
Lou took a seat next to her. "We just wanted to stop this once and for all, especially since you won't let me kill them."
Nina smiled. "No Lou, I need my step-father in my life, thank you. You have to walk me down the aisle when I marry Jack."
"You aren't going to call Nick?"
"He can't make it. He's too busy leading his own life to care about his daughter, not that it surprises me since my parents have never really cared enough to look after me."
"I'm sure he cares..."
"No Lou, he doesn't. You are what a father should be, not him. And my mother is just as bad, although, she agreed to come to the wedding at least."
"She doesn't approve, does she?"
"She thinks I'm making a mistake, yes, but that has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with her own two failed marriages, no offense."
"None taken. Well, I'll definitely make sure that your mother comes, because I want to speak with her about a few things."
"Lou!" exclaimed Harold. "You're planning to cause trouble at Nina's wedding?!"
"Of course not. I love Nina, I would never do that. But, there's always the next day. I can talk to her then."
"You are not going to do anything to hurt Nina," warned Harold, though he was well aware that Lou was never going to do anything hurtful anyway.
"She won't even be there when I do it..."
Nina tuned out of their argument and got up, wandering into the kitchen where Jack was on the phone. He smiled at her and held out an arm for her. She walked over and hugged him, holding onto him while he finished his phone call.
"Sorry, that was the PI. He said he's happy to help, but he wants to have your permission to share the evidence he found. He's going to come past in the morning, so that by the time police arrive, he'll have your answer."
"Sure." Nina looked up at Jack. "Thank you for protecting me."
"I'll always protect you Nina. I love you more than the earth, moon, and stars combined."
"Good," she grinned. "But I love you more."
"I know you do," he said with a fake sigh. "What am I going to do about that?"
"I have a few inappropriate ideas."
"We have guests. You're thoughts can stay in that head of yours until we are alone again. Got it?"
Nina nodded. "Of course I do."
"Good. Let's get back out there. Harold sounds like he might kill Lou. What happened in there?" Jack asked as he and Nina walked back into the lounge room.