So I wonder what Lauren's decision will be...? Enjoy!

Chapter 26: Forces of Nature.

Lauren was sitting glumly in the kitchen with her family two days after Joey's revelation. Much as she would've liked to go and see him the next morning she'd been unable to leave the house due to the snow storm that had become stuck over the whole of the south east of Britain ever since. The snow had come down so thickly you literally hadn't been able to see more than a couple of inches in front of your face. Lauren really would've liked to go over and see him but the whole family had been stuck in the house, much like the rest of the square so she'd only been able to speak to him on the phone.

Today was the first time that the snow had stopped so Lauren was going to go over and see him as soon as she could. She'd been texting him over the last couple of days and she knew he was at the B&B this morning. He'd said he would be when she spoke to him last night. He was waiting for her to arrive. There had been a forbidden subject between the pair since that night. Much as she'd wanted to tell him in the conversations they'd had, both verbal and in text form, she knew she needed to do this in person. She also knew he was dying to know what her answer was but he hadn't asked her.

The back door of the house opened and Uncle Jack walked in, shutting the door quickly to stop the bitter wind getting into the house. He stared at her intently before turning to her dad. "Everyone's gathering in the square... there's a problem."

"What sort of problem?" Her dad asked.

"There's been some damage from the snow... everyone's gathering to see if there is anything we can do to help."

"What's been damaged?" Tanya asked.

"The B&B..." Jack said softly, his eyes locked on Lauren.

Lauren was on her feet in an instant and she ran for the front door, grabbing her hat and coat as she stepped into her boots.

"Lauren!" Her dad called after her.

She pulled open the door, wincing as the wind hit her in the face. She moved carefully down the stairs and when she was on the street her eyes were fixed on the B&B... or rather what remained of the B&B. She was frozen to the spot as she saw where the roof had collapsed beneath the weight of snow. A tree had also been blown over, crashing through a window at the front of the building. A window Lauren had looked out of many times; the window of Joey's room. From what she could see the only part of the B&B that had received any damage was the room her cousin was staying in.

"Babe?" Her dad said, as he came to stand at her side.

"That's Joey's room..." she whispered.

"You don't know he was in there..."

"I do... I spoke to him last night. He wasn't going out until lunch time and he was staying in his room because he had a shift at R&R's tonight so he wanted to get some sleep." Lauren began to walk towards the crowd of people but it soon turned into a run, her need to make sure Joey was okay pushing her forward.

*JL*JL*

Her father and uncle stood either side of her. "Should we call Derek?" Max asked.

"I think we know Joey wouldn't want his father here..." Jack replied. Derek and Alice had gone away at the weekend and weren't due back until Christmas Eve.

"But Alice..." Max said.

"When are the fire brigade and ambulance getting here?" Lauren interrupted.

"They're going to take a while, sweetheart." Max told her, "Because of the snow they're having problems getting through. They'll get here as soon as they can, babe."

"We should be doing something... not just standing here." Lauren said. "There are enough of us here to try and get to him."

"We should wait for the professionals."

"He could be injured, dad." Lauren said. She started walking towards the entrance to the B&B but her dad pulled her back, "Let go of me!" She cried out, trying to shake off his arm.

"Lauren... it's dangerous."

"Dad, Joey's in there..." she said, turning to her father and looking at him, trying to plead with him to agree with her.

Max sighed. He could never refuse her when she looked at him like that. "Okay... but let me and your uncle do this, alright?" he told her. "You stay here with your mum and aunt." He pushed her in the direction of Tanya and then turned to his brother. "Come on then."

*JL*JL*

Lauren stood tensely watching after her dad and uncle entered the building. Several of the other residents of the square had also gone in there with them to help. Lauren's heart was racing as she waited for them to bring him out. Her aunt and mum were standing with her but, despite their best efforts, neither of them could offer her any comfort.

Sirens in the distance began to get closer and Lauren turned her head, seeing the ambulance and fire engine stopping on Bridge Street. People from each vehicle jogged over to the crowd. Just as they pushed their way through the crowd there was a grumble from the building and then more bits of the roof were falling. People began to talk louder, a couple of the shrieked. Denise and Kim were both being comforted by Patrick as they all watched the disaster unfold. Lauren watched in horror.

The firemen entered the building and soon her dad and the others had been ushered back out of the building, to be replaced by the paramedics. Max and Jack made their way over to where she stood. Both were covered in dust and dirt. "Did you find him?" she asked softly, her eyes fixed on the B&B, hoping for something that would make her feel better.

"No, babe. The ceiling has caved in near the doorway so it's difficult to get into the room." Her dad said.

Jack put his arm around his niece, knowing how much this would be killing her. "He's going to be okay, right?" she asked.

"You've got to think positively, darling." Jack said, squeezing her slightly.

*JL*JL*

A kerfuffle started near the front of the building sometime later and the family looked towards it quickly. Lauren heaved a sigh of relief as she saw a stretcher be wheeled out of the door. Joey was on it with a mask over his mouth. "Joey..." she whispered, pulling herself from her uncle's arms and running towards her cousin. "Is he okay?" she asked one of the paramedics.

"Who are you?"

"He's my cousin..." she whispered, staring at Joey's face. His eyes were shut and she was worried there was something really wrong with him.

"He'll need to be checked out at the hospital but he should be okay."

They pushed the stretcher towards the ambulance and Lauren trailed after them. "Can I come with you?"

"You're family so it should be fine." One paramedic said with a smile. She sighed in relief as she clambered into the ambulance and sat next to the stretcher. Soon the vehicle was moving slowly along the road towards the hospital.

"Why is he unconscious?" Lauren asked softly.

"He was trapped under some rubble and when the firemen pulled him free from it, his shoulder dislocated and he passed out. It was the only way of getting him out. They had to move quickly because it was very unstable up there and there was a chance the roof could collapse completely."

"Does he have any other injuries?"

"I'm pretty sure his collar bone is broken and there may be a fracture to his arm. He's actually very lucky. After seeing the mess of the room, it definitely could've been a lot worse." He began to busy himself with checking Joey's vitals and strapping his left arm to his chest to keep it secure.

Lauren didn't know what to do. She felt so useless. There wasn't any way she could help him. She reached for the hand nearest her, thankful it wasn't the arm that was injured and clasped it between hers. She bowed her head and rested it against their hands. "Thank you..." she whispered to a God she hadn't really believed in until now.

*JL*JL*

Lauren was let into the room to see him almost an hour later. She was still on her own and she assumed the rest of the family was having problems getting there due to the roads being treacherous because of the snow and ice. She opened the door to the room and could see him lying on the bed. She moved to his side quickly. It was only the two of them in the room so she bent down and kissed him on the lips softly.

She stood next to his bed, holding his hand and staring at his face for some time. Her hand lifted and she brushed her fingers through the front of his hair, lingering slightly longer than necessary. If her decision hadn't already been made, this event had only strengthened her resolve. She knew what she wanted. But then she always had done really.

The door to the room opened and Lauren glanced in the direction. It was a doctor. "Miss Branning?"

"Yes. Lauren, please..." she said softly. "Is he okay?"

"Yes, Joseph has been very lucky. We've relocated his shoulder and it will be strapped up shortly to reduce the chance of it dislocating again. I'll also prescribe him some anti-inflammatory medication which will help reduce the swelling around his shoulder. His collar bone is fractured but he'll be able to manage the pain from this by taking paracetamol. He's going to have some pretty spectacular bruises but that's largely it." He consulted Joey's notes. "We've got him on oxygen at the moment... he inhaled a lot of dust and dirt which might impact on his breathing so I'd like to keep him on that for a few more hours."

"When will he wake up?" Lauren asked softly. "And when will he be able to go home?"

"Well I think he'll wake up in the next couple of hours. As for when he can leave the hospital... until he's conscious and I've reviewed his condition, I can't say for certain. I might keep him in overnight if he's having problems with his breathing."

"The paramedic said his arm might be fractured...?"

"We've taken some X-rays but there doesn't appear to be any signs of breaks or fractures."

"Okay... thanks doctor." The doctor smiled at her and then left the two of them alone. Lauren turned her attention back to Joey. "Come on, Joe... time to wake up now." She whispered to him.

*JL*JL*

Joey felt like a weight was pressed on his chest and he was exhausted. He remembered being in bed earlier but he knew that wasn't where he was now. Not his bed anyway. He thought back through what he could remember and the noise of a loud creaking groan filtered through his thoughts... before everything went black and the pain began. He remembered waking for a short time after that. Then people were pulling him out from what was left of his room and the pain had increased astronomically, which was the last thing he remembered.

He took a deep breath, wincing slightly as his shoulder protested the large movement and slowly opened his eyes. He glanced down his body, assessing his injuries and seeing his arm was strapped against his chest. That wasn't what caught his attention though. No, what caught his attention was the brunette whose head was resting on his body as she slept, her face turned towards him. He pulled his hand from her loose grasp, lifting it and brushing his fingers through her hair, tucking it behind her ear and leaving his hand resting at the top of her back.

The touch of his hand woke her, her eyes opening and staring at him, "Joe..." she whispered.

"Hey babe." He croaked, coughing as his throat was dry.

She moved away from him and brought him back a plastic cup of water and a straw. She held it to his mouth and he took a sip. "How are you feeling?" she asked him softly.

"Like a building fell on me..." he said with a chuckle and saw her frown, eyes filling with tears. "Too soon?" he asked softly and she nodded. "Shoulder hurts like hell..." he admitted.

"I thought you were going to leave me..." she murmured.

"Will never happen, Lauren." He breathed, staring at her.

Lauren swallowed, unable to break her gaze from him. She got to her feet and bent over him, "I think it's time I told you what my decision is..." she told him softly. "Yes... I want that too, Joe. I want us to be together." She kissed him tenderly and rested her forehead against his.

TBC

A/N: So there you go... They want to be together. Yippee! So you probably think this story is done now, right? Wrong... still a way to go yet. However there is no preview tonight - the title of the next film remains a secret until tomorrow. :-)