Chapter Twenty One.

Joey came back upstairs, frowning when he saw his sister standing outside his room, "Al...?" he said. She turned to look at him and he knew immediately something was wrong. She looked almost scared of him. "Tell me..."

"I didn't mean it, Joey... It was an accident..." she said quietly.

"What was?" he asked, his voice hardening and Alice took a step back, slightly scared of him suddenly.

"I went into your room... I wanted to know if you'd seen one of my CD's before you left..." She stopped speaking, glancing at his closed bedroom door.

"And..." he prodded, already suspecting what she was about to say.

"Lauren was in there..." Alice whispered. "She'd... I..." She stopped, pure misery on her face.

He didn't need further explanation, the look on her face and the fact his bedroom door had slammed shut while he was downstairs told him more than enough. "Go downstairs, Al..." he said, his voice softer than she expected it to be.

"I'm so sorry, Joey..." she whispered. She moved to walk past him but he grabbed her hand in his as she did so, stopping her. She looked at him, still slightly fearful.

"It's okay, Al..." he told her softly.

"Tell Lauren I'm sorry..." she whispered.

"I will." He said. He glanced at the door. "Can you call Uncle Max... tell him Lauren needs him..." he asked her.

"Of course, Joey." Alice said.

"We'll be down in a while, okay..." Joey said, squeezing her hand. Alice nodded and then she left him alone. Joey turned to face the door, stepping towards it, "Baby girl?" he said softly through the door. There was no sound from the other side. He turned the door handle in his hand but as he'd expected, it didn't open... which meant Lauren was leaning against the door. He knew he could force his way into the room but doing that would mean she could get hurt and that wasn't what he wanted. "Please let me in, babe..." he said to her softly. "Your dad should be on his way over in a minute... Alice is calling him." He added. The mention of Alice's name brought forth the sound of sobbing from his girlfriend and his heart broke for her, hating hearing the misery in her tears. "Please, babe..." he begged her, "We can shut the door again once I'm in there with you... we can shut the whole world out, so it's just you and me..." he begged her quietly. She started to cry harder and the sound she was making... each pitiful sob... was like a knife to his already tattered heart. "Lauren, babe... please let me in..." he breathed, his voice barely audible to her.

*JL*JL*

Lauren was still curled up by the door but she could hear the emotion in Joey's voice... his calm soothing voice reaching her through the despair she was feeling. She could hear him talking softly to her and each word gradually wore through the panic she was feeling. After an indeterminate length of time she took a deep breath and moved away from the door, reaching up for the door handle and opening the door ever so slightly. The door opened wider, allowing Joey to squeeze through it moments later and then he shut the door again and Lauren leant against it once more. She remained huddled up in the over-sized robe against the door, her eyes locked on the floor as he sat down beside her. He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him so her head was leaning against his chest. He didn't say anything, simply kissing the top of her head and holding her as she started to cry once more.

*JL*JL*

Lauren had finally stopped crying but she hadn't said anything and Joey wasn't pushing her to speak either. He could feel the tension in her body and the way she was trying to bury herself into his chest. He lifted his hand, pushing some hair back from her face and tucking it behind her ear so he could see her face. It was blotchy, tear-stained and she wouldn't look at him. "Baby girl... look at me..." he pleaded with her. She closed her eyes and he could see she took a deep breath, then she opened them again and lifted her head slightly, looking up at his face. "Talk to me..." he urged her.

"She saw them..." she whispered.

"I know, sweetheart..."

"She thinks they're ugly..." she said, her voice wobbling slightly.

"No, she doesn't..."

"She couldn't get out of here fast enough..." she told him.

"She was surprised, Lauren... she hadn't been expecting to see them... and she felt embarrassed because she walked in on you half-naked and surprised you too... She left quickly because she could tell you felt awkward... she felt awkward too… you were half naked…"

"I'm ugly..." she breathed, her voice breaking on the last word.

"You are no such thing..." he said, his hand caressing the side of her face tenderly. "Do you know what I see when I see your scars?" he asked her. She shook her head, several more tears falling from her eyes. "I see a girl who put two small babies lives above that of her own... who protected them and made sure they were safe from harm... regardless of the pain she was in. I see someone who's got more strength than anyone I know. Someone who's had to go through more than most people do in their lifetimes. I can't begin to imagine how much pain you must've been in... how much pain you're still in every day... and you rarely complain about it. I look at you and every time I do I fall in love with you all over again, babe…"

"Even with the scars…?"

"Even with the scars…" he whispered. "I loved you after the fire… when the scars were still gaping wounds… it's just on the surface, babe… there is more to you than what I can see… Your soul is beautiful, Lauren… and your appearance, your scars are only temporary… you heard the doctor, he's confident that they will mostly heal really well… just the one on your back will leave a small scar… Do you realise how much they're improved since the fire?" he asked her.

"No…" she admitted, "I try not to look at them…" she whispered.

"You really should, babe… They're healing really well… Yes, they still look a little red but they're so much better than they were…"

"It'll be ages before they're fully healed, Joe…" she said sadly.

"I'm not going anywhere… not without you anyway…" he reassured her.

Lauren looked up at him, surprise on her face, "Really?"

"Of course, babe… haven't you been listening to me for the last few months?" he said. He lowered his head and kissed her softly. "We should get that lotion on you and then go downstairs. Your dad is probably here by now…"

"Already?" she said.

"Al was going to call him… You needed him and I knew he'd want to be here… like me…" he said.

"I love you, Joe…" Lauren breathed.

"Well, that's bloody good job… because I ain't going nowhere!" he said with a chuckle.

A/N: How sweet was Joey when he was explaining everything to Lauren? Do you think she believes him? This chapter is one of my favourites of this story so I hope you liked it too. Send me a review and let me know what you think. Back tomorrow…