Chapter 21

Ebony felt like Trudy's incessant chatter had gone on for hours before the mother finally went to wake Amber and left her in peace. She'd only listened with half an ear to the vast volume of information pouring out of Trudy's mouth, but she'd heard enough to know why Jack was so keen to stay out of the way. Out of Luke's way, that is. And Ellie's.

"Are you okay?" Ebony quietly asked the ceiling.

"I'll live," replied the invisible voice beneath her. "I'm not the one who's been unconscious for half a day."

"No, you're just the one who's been avoiding the issue for half a day. Deliberately."

"I needed time to think," Jack sighed, and Ebony could almost hear the shrug that accompanied his words. "About what to do next and all that."

"And?"

"And I was worried about you."

"Thanks, but you know that's not what I meant," Ebony tried to suppress a smile and failed.

"Yeah, well..." Jack paused as a door shut somewhere else in the chalet. "That'll be them. Trudy cannot know I'm here!"

"Why Trudy?" Ebony hissed, frowning.

The door to the room opened before Jack could reply, if, thought Ebony, he had ever intended to, and Amber and Trudy walked in, Trudy carrying baby Bray and staying back at the door. Amber, her hands free, hurried over to Ebony's side and sat down on the side of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Amber watched Ebony's face closely. "Honestly, Ebony."

"I feel fine," Ebony shrugged, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "A little weak, maybe and, oh, a little light headed too," she leant back and Amber propped her up on a few extra pillows. "What kind of a wimp am I to go passing out from period pains? Seriously!"

Amber leant back a little, frowning and looked round to Trudy. "You didn't tell her?"

"Tell me what?" Ebony asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Well, you two are so much closer now..." Trudy shrugged. "You know, I think Bray needs changing. I'd better just go see to that..."

Watching the door fall shut as Trudy hurried away, Amber sighed, her shoulders sagging under the weight of this new burden.

"What is it, Amber?" Ebony's voice was low but steady, her eyes watching the blonde Zulu knots.

A movement from the opposite side of the bed drew both the girls' attention. Jack sat on Ebony's other side and took her hand.

"Oh great, now I know it's bad!" Ebony quipped, nervous anxiety beginning to descend into sarcastic anger. "Will one of you please just tell me what's going on?"

Amber looked back to Ebony, glanced over at Jack, and took a deep breath.

"Ebony you were pregnant," she said, watching the other girl's face.

Ebony's gaze went off to the side, frowning, as she considered these words. It never moved when she spoke again.

"I was pregnant. Was, past tense, meaning I'm not now. You're telling me I miscarried?"

"Yes," it was Jack's voice that answered her.

"Huh," Ebony still did not move, "Tai San would say it was Karma."

"What do you mean?" Amber frowned.

"I deserve it," Ebony shrugged simply. The frown was gone from her face now, replaced by an utterly blank expression, her eyes staring at the floor.

"No you don't," said Amber, taking Ebony's other hand in hers. "Nobody deserves that."

"But I do, don't I," Ebony replied, more a statement than a question. "I pushed Ruby into that truck hoping that's exactly what would happen to her. What more fitting punishment is there than that? An eye for an eye..."

"Don't," said Jack sharply. "Tai San was a space cadet. Karma is nonsense. If it wasn't for you we would never have caught up with Mega's game in time. If it wasn't for you, the guardian might still be in power! In fact, when you think about it, you've saved our lives so many times I've lost count! How does Karma figure that in? You protected us from the Locos. You helped us get out of the city and up to Eagle Mountain. You gave us security in the Mall when the city was battering down the grills to get the antidote. The list goes on! Right up to and including the fact that I'm only here right now because you helped pull me up that cliff! You saved my life, Ebony. If you want to blame someone, blame me: it was my weight on that rope that caused the miscarriage."

"Don't be ridiculous," Ebony pulled away from Jack and turned to face him, dragging her other hand out of Amber's grasp in the process. "I was the one that tied the damn rope around my waist, not you! And I'd still have tied it there even if I had known I was pregnant!"

"Ebony..." Jack started.

"Yes, I would!" Ebony snapped. "I have taken risks all my life Jack. Do you really think I'd stand back and watch some I care about die rather than take another one? And what in the world makes you think that saving your ass is more likely to cause that than watching you fall?"

Amber's eyes moved from Ebony to Jack. He looked as if she had just slapped him. If he'd meant to rile her out of her silence, his plan had worked. Even if he hadn't, he had certainly just got a lot more than he bargained for. Even if he hadn't worked out the full meaning behind what Ebony had just admitted, and Amber was sure that, Jack being Jack, he probably hadn't, he surely couldn't still blame himself for the miscarriage. That had, after all, been partly why he had chosen Ebony's room as his hiding place. Amber had seen that guilt in his eyes the moment he had lifted Ebony's unconsious form into his arms, back at the cliff top. There had been no argument she could voice to dissuade him then, not while Ebony still slept. He had had to hear it from Ebony herself. Now that he had, hopefully he could move on. Persuading Slade of Jack's innocence in the matter would be considerably easier if Jack believed it himself!

Jack turned away and stood up, walking away from the bed, his expression unreadable. Amber cast a glance over to Ebony and was shocked to find her looking more vulnerable that she ever had before. Ebony noticed that Amber's gaze had returned to her and, suddenly, the mask was back in place. The door slammed and Amber looked round and felt her jaw drop. The room was empty bar herself and Ebony. Jack was gone.

"What the..." Amber muttered.

"And they call me the drama queen!" Ebony murmured quietly. When Amber looked round to her, she was lying back on the pillows again, looking up at the ceiling. From the glassy look in her eyes, Amber thought she could guess why.

"It's okay, you know," she said. "Nobody is expecting you to be your usual self right now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ebony retorted half-heartedly, her voice thick with emotion.

"You know full well what I mean," said Amber. "Defences up on all sides, not letting anyone near you see how you really feel. You forget: I've known you too long now, Ebony."

"You don't know everything," Ebony replied sullenly, a single tear escaping and sliding down her cheek.

"I know you're in love with Jack," Amber heard Ebony's breath hitch.

"I think I want to sleep now," said Ebony. "Would you get rid of these extra pillows please?"

Amber nodded and stood up. As soon as the extra padding was gone, Ebony slunk down in the bed again, rolling onto her side and pulling the covers over her. Amber called her name but got no reply. With a sigh and a shrug, Amber turned and left the room, closing the door behind her more gently than Jack had. In the hallway, she met Trudy.

"Was that Jack I saw storming out of here?" Trudy asked, handing Amber her son.

"Yeah, he's been staying out of Luke and Ellie's way," Amber sighed. "Not to mention Slade's! He just needs a bit of time to himself, I think."

"So he went to visit Ebony?" Trudy's face was a picture of disbelief. "That's hardly time to himself."

"He's been there all night, hiding," Amber explained. "We talked for a while while I was watching her and he took a turn keeping an eye on her so that I could get some sleep. He hid under the bed when you came in, but now you've seen him I guess there's no point in keeping that secret. I wouldn't tell Slade yet though. Not until we know he's stopped blaming Jack for the miscarriage."

"Why?" Trudy frowned, although her expression looked decidedly distracted.

"Oh you know: so that he doesn't end up beating Jack to a pulp!" Amber rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Trudy, you'd think you were the one awake half the night with Ebony, not me!"