Hey!
This isn't the chapter I wanted to post, this was supposed to be chapter twenty-two however I am a very silly person and I forgot to save it to my memory stick, so it's on the school system. I'll update with this one now, and the post the chapter that should have been this chapter tomorrow (though it may feel all wrong because really that chapter should be here and this chapter should be after it).

Thank you to everyone who's still reading this, it's getting close to the end now though, there's roughly nine more chapters!
Calliope, Lizziginne, tigpop and EmmaJ1996 - thank you for the reviews, you are very beautiful amazing people!

Please review, here's this chapters question (seeing as I seem to post one every chapter) - what one shot situations would you like to see written in this universe? I've written two or three already, but I'm waiting till this has finished to post them...

Enjoy,
Much love x

Chapter Twenty-One

He'd left his daughter shortly after she'd finished reading the letter. He was worried about what she was doing now his back was turning of course, but she wished to be alone. She needed time to think, and to let it all sink in.

Drumming his fingers on the long white cashier counter, Leo was unconsciously producing a rhythm, each beat rushing after another, pressing and hastening. Staring at middle-aged cashier with a box of expensive luxury chocolates in his hand, and plain gold wrapping paper in the other, he could not help but sighing. He could feel the look of people tired of the long queue burning the back of his neck. He should have just bought the chocolates and given them to his girlfriend as they were. After all, a woman like Janet wasn't going to be bothered about whether or not the box of chocolates was wrapped.

He felt at his pockets, searching for his keys, and then quickly picked up the flimsy plastic carrier bag containing the wine and chocolates before settling it on the passenger seat of his car.

In no time, the car was rocketing on the highway, £25, thirty minutes of wrapping and probably his late arrival home were what it was costing to – hopefully - appease Janet. Not that he knew how she was going to react to his news anyway. He ran through all those details in her head. It had been a long day. He drove mechanically, subconsciously changing gear, all, imagining the expression Janet's face would form while fatigue sluiced through his body like scalding water down rocks.

Leo had just passed an exit on the highway, when the brake lights of the car ahead his flared. He slowed, slowed some more, then he had to press down on the break hard. Dusk was already gathering, the sun a dull glow in the overcast sky. As he crested the hill, the traffic came to a complete stop; a long ribbon of taillights flashing red and white snaked in front of him. He could hear sirens but was unable to place the direction in which the came from, he switched on the radio hoping for some enlightenment. An accident. A pileup. He would see the devastating results at work tomorrow no doubt. He glanced at the gas gauge- the needle pointed at just below a half of a tank; more than enough to return to the peaceful suburb, however the line of cars could be here well over an hour yet.

He let out a frustrated sigh.

Leo sat still for a few minutes, his eyes glazing over as he stared outside the car window. Rows of trees stood tall, proud and defiant in their battle against the howling wind. The nearest exit was about half a mile back, separated from him by a chain of cars gleaming under the white moonlight. He shook his head lightly, and looked at the plastic bag on the backseat. The silvery ribbon stood out from the glossy wrapping paper. No doubt the chocolates would melt if he stayed sat here. Readjusting his body, so that he could feel the satin ribbon, cool and smooth between his fingers. He imagined Janet's delicate fingers untying the ribbon and meticulously opening the wrapping paper so that it would not be torn. She would smile gratefully as she unwrapped the chocolates noticing that they were the more pricey kind. His face slightly relaxed, a smile lit up his tightened face. Would Janet be alright with his request, or would she shoot him down before the words had left his lips?

When he turned back to face the steering wheel, he started to feel uneasy. His mind drifted away from the traffic jam and came to his daughter. Her frail figure hunched over as he'd left them room closing the door silently behind him. Her eyes had been vacant, her expression giving nothing away about her inner turmoil. Would she still be sitting there now, in that exact same position, going over and over the letter in her mind? Would the words form ugly images that would plague her dreams? That was if she actually managed to get any sleep, he couldn't even begin to comprehend what his little girl was feeling right now. Her mother, her own flesh and blood has walked out on her. She had her reasons. That was clear enough. He hadn't seen the letter, Cassie had snatched it away from him when he had reached for it, she had scrunched it on into a tight ball before throwing down on the bed beside her. He hadn't tried to read it again after that.

What had Theresa said that had upset his daughter like that? His imploring gaze and concerned questions had not gotten anything out of his daughter. Instead she'd sat there trying to keep her expression blank but not managing to control the tears welling up behind her soft brown eyes.

After taking a deep breath, he snagged his teeth on his bottom lip and let an instinctive impulse took over. He needed to get home, so he could get back to his daughter. He needed to see Janet who was undoubtedly feeling left out. He needed to explain to her what had occurred and what he planned to do about it. He needed her permission, he needed Janet to understand, because he couldn't choose between her and his daughter. He just couldn't.

He jerked the steering wheel, slid off the lane and onto the uneven gravel shoulder. He put the car in reverse and then backed up, travelling past the traffic still, like a frozen river.

He reached the exit he had seen before safely, then made the turn and rocketed through the softening darkness until he reach the large detached hour he and Janet had bought a year and a half previous.

The concrete floor had several hairline cracks in it and icky tire tread tracks. A thin layer of dirt, gravel, mud, and dust blanketed it. A roll of orange extension cord was hanging from a nail underneath which a toolbox full to the brim with different type of screwdrivers and spanners sat there. Leo hardly ever used anything inside it, he was a DIY kind of man, with his job he never had the time and he could easily afford for someone else to come and do it for him. The glossy white wooden shelves were littered with boxes full of old broken light fixtures, a collection of oils, grease & lubricants for garage door, windows and the lawn mower. A hose lay discarded inside one alongside grass seed, fertilizer, weedkiller, ant traps, slug bait, wasp sprays, heavy-duty bags for garden waste and several trowels and spades. The items had been transferred to this garage after previously hogging the room in his old one, where they had been for as long as he could remember. He was fairly sure they had belonged to Theresa at some point, she had loved to take care of the garden when they were together and frequently enlisted Cassie's help – it would be shock to all that had known them if Cassie was unable to name every flower and every creature that could possibly lurk within a garden. Leaning against the wall was a broom, a shovel, two rakes and an axe, as far as he was concerned none of them had ever been used however Janet has insisted that they needed them when they had visited a garden centre the previous summer.

Christmas decorations stood in a cardboard box held together with several rolls of sticky tape. Strands of Christmas lights protruded from the box like vines weaving there way in and out of the stacked tins of paint on the floor beside the bedraggled box.

There were two spare tires on the floor to the side of the garage door near the wall which held the tiny red garage door button and the light switch, Several pairs of rubber boots, hand prints and smudges could be found lying around the base of the wall.

On the windowsill lay dead bugs, and spider webs in the corners. Janet was constantly nagging at him to clean out the garage and although she claimed it was simply because the room was untidy, he knew it was because she feared going in there and finding a colossal spider lurking behind whatever bottle or tin she required. Although Leo though they were more likely to hide in one of the many gaps where you could see yellow insulation behind the grey brick wall.

Clambering out of the car he moved swiftly dragging the carrier bag from the passenger seat and glancing up towards the steps, which lead to the door, a door that was currently open just a fraction allowing the light from the hallway to flow through. He wiped his feet on the prickly brown mat and looked up the stair and at the door once more, before realising that he wasn't alone.

Janet was stood there staring at him, her expression a mix of vexation and disappointment.

"So much for half an hour" She spat out, "So much for you being desperate to speak to me."

He looked at her before sighing, "Please Janet, I… she got some bad news."

The woman just raised her eyebrows in response.

"We clearly need to talk," She stated bluntly, and Leo got the impression she was trying desperately hard to stay in control of her emotions, "You need to realise that just because the past has returning, doesn't mean you can forget about your present."

At the last word she practically broke down, and Leo knew his mistake. He'd been with his daughter since she had been admitted to the hospital, and before that he'd spent all the time thinking about her, and how much she had changed over the last eight years. He had ignored the one woman who had helped him through the last two years, the woman he had relied on to stay strong whilst he clung on to her and battled the ferocious waters that threatened to submerge him.

She needed to be involved with this too. She needed to meet Cassie, and establish some sort of relationship with his daughter. Other wise she would never understand, and he couldn't bear to loose her over this.